What is "it"?

That was my big question for the past week. The sidewalks were clad with spray-painted "it" logos all over campus. Huge circular canvas signs were propped up on the lawns with sandbags. "It" was everywhere!  These advertising techniques piqued my interest and I was on the Quad at 3:30PM to get good seats under the white event tent.

Despite the size of any event on campus, there is usually a supply of free stuff passed out to the crowd. I found myself with an "it" pennant, sunglasses, and a tiny firework which was supposed to be popped "at the signal" which wasn't really specified.

"Oh, you'll know," said the blazered upperclassman reassuringly.

I was surprised with "it"'s attendance. I saw the marching band, Otto the Orange (SU's beloved fuzzy fruit mascot), and Chancellor Nancy Cantor. There were also a lot of prestigious looking students in blazers, similar to the one that handed me a New Year's Day popper. What IS "it"?

Chancellor Nancy Cantor in the middle

It turns out that "it" was a huge and exciting announcement. In 2005, Chancellor Cantor set SU's fundraising goal for December 2012 at $1 billion. GUESS WHAT. We're ahead of schedule.

As of August 31st, SU has raised $1,008,612,731.

Now, how much is a billion dollars? Let me put things into perspective. According to OTVpro.com, if you spent $1 for every second of every day, it would take 31 years, 259 days, 1 hour, 46 minutes, and 40 seconds to get $1 billion. 

AND WE GOT MORE THAN THAT IN LESS THAN 7 YEARS. OH SH-

When I heard this number and when the confetti cannons burst out, I got goosebumps. They were both impressed and freaked out goosebumps. First of all, all that money came from alumni and people that love SU! We're going to use that money for teachers, scholarships, preventing raising tuition costs, and facilities. On the other hand, the United States is $16 trillion in debt. How are we thriving when everything around us is  falling into a deeper and deeper financial sinkhole? Just a thought, y'know? 

Oh yeah, Syracuse University is also opening a facility in New York City for students that want to take classes over there. Pretty exciting. I love all the inspiring speeches people give here. It makes me all emotional and thankful for my life. I love my life and no matter how much I feel like a misguided and unorganized freshman sometimes. I'm still adjusting to my life here at SU, but slowly and surely things are falling into relative order. I can't rush being a pro at this different lifestyle. 

(http://whatisit.syr.edu/press_release.html)