Buffing up on school spirit with a weekly tradition

If you don’t select your outfit carefully on a Wednesday, be prepared to be approached by someone on campus wearing Gally gear asking, “Why aren’t you wearing your Buff and Blue?!” Fans of BnB Wednesdays want to make sure that as many people as possible keep the color-coordinated tradition going strong. “I think it’s important for getting all of us to remember that we are on the same side, that we are working for something greater than ourselves, and that we can have some levity at work!” says Provost Khadijat Rashid, ‘90.

Rashid had sporadically participated in BnB Wednesdays over the past few years, but when she became Provost, she decided to go all in to encourage school spirit. “When people see me on Wednesdays they are quick to tell me, ‘Hey look, I’m wearing Buff and Blue!’ or ‘Oh no, I forgot!’ before I even say anything,” she says. She likes to start her Wednesday meetings with some light-hearted joking about who — and who’s not — wearing their BnB. As a result, now almost everyone on the Executive Team and Academic Affairs leadership wears GU colors on Wednesdays. “I joke that anyone who doesn’t wear BnB has to pay a fine, which will fund a big party at the end of the year.”

BnB Wednesdays is born

But how did this become a thing in the first place? The answer: a small group of people determined to spread some school spirit.

In the fall of 2009, GU’s Digital Video Specialist Lizzie Bloom, G-’11, was reminiscing about being an undergraduate at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Bloom was the first Deaf student government president at RIT, and one of her favorite traditions there was that faculty, staff, and students all proudly wore school colors every Friday.

She chatted about it with student Michelle Lapides ‘12, now a marketing and branding professional, and Dr. Arlene B. Kelly, ’77 & G-’92, a Professor of ASL and Deaf Studies. Kelly mentioned the idea to another GU employee, Linda Williams, ’87 & G-’00, on her MARC train commute, where there’s often a signing contingent — and where some of the best ideas are spread! The four women were excited to spearhead a similar effort on Gallaudet’s campus, with one change: Kelly suggested swapping Friday for Wednesday to raise people’s spirits mid-week.

As fall grew into winter, the team decided they needed more exposure, and Kelly approached Gallaudet’s first lady Vicki Hurwitz to sponsor a kick-off event in Spring 2010. Hurwitz hosted the official Buff n’ Blue Wednesdays kick-off at College Hall with refreshments and the Gally Bison. By Fall 2010, the leadership of the Graduate School Organization also caught the spirit, printing and distributing T-shirts throughout campus. As a beader, Kelly even made a number of BnB necklaces and bracelets for colleagues and students. “The rest is history,” she says, who, despite retiring in 2021, feels odd if she doesn’t wake up on Wednesday mornings without reaching for her school colors. 

Students lead the way

Eyob Zerayesus, Associate Dean of Student Experience and Engagement, has been a steady adherent of BnB Wednesdays. All universities have branding, but he feels being unified in a “visually loud” way is especially important for the deaf community. He remembers when he joined Student Affairs in 2014, he gradually started wearing school colors, and over time, found that he wanted to encourage others’ spirit as well. “I made a commitment to myself to wear buff and blue on Wednesdays before approaching students to do the same,” he says.

Starting in 2018, Student Affairs gave out freebies, invented the Buff and Blue Superhero, and organized BnB Wednesday challenges for students to get involved. They rose to the challenge, showing off coordinated outfits, bright blue and yellow shoes, earrings, and other accessories, and even the occasional dyed mohawk. Momentum slowed in 2020 when COVID-19 kept students home but school spirit is gradually returning as people reacclimate to campus life. 

Reinvigorating a Gally tradition

For staff and faculty who want to help revitalize the BnB tradition, Zerayesus suggests leading by example starting in your own department, and holding a broad definition of school spirit. “Buff and Blue means different things to different people and units – it may mean how you value your friends and colleagues at Gallaudet or showing support for our sports teams,” he says. “We are a very diverse campus and not a monolith, but when you zoom out, we are all part of the Gallaudet community.” He also emphasizes that BnB Wednesdays tie into many other expressions of Gallaudet pride, and the more people see those examples, the more likely they will participate.

Rashid has taken on the BnB mantle from Kelly with pride, noticing the number of people participating has gradually increased over the year. “I love seeing the creative sartorial choices of people mixing and matching the colors on Wednesdays,” she says. “Everything from bright yellow to tan counts as ‘buff’ and ‘blue’ can be the lightest blue down to the darkest royal navy. It’s all good!”