You may not have known just who Nike was talking to when the athletic apparel giant kept saying, "Just Do It," but a new message from the University of Delaware is loud and clear. The new "Just UDo It!" campaign lets entering freshmen and returning students alike know the U in this UD stands for Y-O-U and if you have an interest you want to pursue, UD has the resources to help.

The campaign, to increase awareness of the many sanctioned, organized activities UD has to offer students, officially kicked off at Student Activities Night, Sept. 2, in the Trabant University Center. It was promoted through T-shirts, posters, flyers, post cards, brochures and a web site designed to link students to information about campus organizations. Special events planned throughout the year will stress the theme and give students several chances to get involved.

A secondary theme, "Great Minds Think Alike–Get Connected," emphasizes the concept that student activities are a great way for people with similar interests
to find each other.

"Involvement generates campus spirit and personal friendships. Whether a student is a participant or a leader, so many rich experiences are gained from just showing up and asking, 'What can I do?'" Marilyn Prime, director of student centers at UD, said.

"Being active in student groups, residence halls, recreation, athletics or promoting an academic area is rewarding and can often lead to lifelong friendships and professional contacts after graduation. Most importantly, being involved is fun!" Prime said.

John Bishop, UD associate vice president in the Center for Counseling and Student Development, added, "When students report that they are feeling isolated or having a difficult time adjusting to college life, I often recommend that they try some extracurricular activities. Finding other people with interests similar to your own is a good way of developing a support system."

The idea to more actively promote student activities came from the SOLAR (Student Organization Leadership and Activity Resources) Panel, a group of student leaders who meet monthly with Student Centers staff to talk about campus groups, activities and programming. While individual groups do a good job of promoting their own organizations, UD also needed to provide a centralized site for students to learn about all student activity offerings, the group said.

"The campaign will be trying to get students involved in all aspects of campus life," Prime said. "It will encompass resident student organizations, fraternities and sororities, intramurals, resident hall activities and religious organizations--in short, anything students can be involved in on campus. It's a home base for information, a sort of one-stop shopping for things to do.

"The campaign provides a winning opportunity for all involved," Prime added. "The students can explore all of these opportunities and the organizations can continue to grow, and remain healthy.

"We have so much to offer our students here at UD, we just want them to grab hold of these opportunities and 'Just UDo It!"