Throughout the year, students leave “offerings” for our mascot, Testudo, so that he would send them good luck. As you can imagine, Testudo gets the most offerings during exam season. Most often, the offerings are foods and beverages, whether unopened or halfway finished. I have also seen large things like dressers and TVs surrounding Testudo. So, at the end of every semester, Testudo starts looking a little like a landfill.
This year, I noticed that the University is attempting to solve two problems at once. It is offering carnations for $1 at the cafe less than 100 feet from the Testudo statue. This initiative will beautify the campus instead of making it look like a trash dump. More importantly though, all the proceeds are going to the UMD Student Crisis Fund. This a great fund that reinvests in the community by helping members who are in financial trouble due to medical emergencies or “acts of god”, such as devastating fires.
In my opinion, this is a very clever and simple marketing campaign. Yet, judging by the items that are typically left there, I am a little skeptical that students would go even the 100 feet out of their way to purchase a carnation when they would typically just leave the rest of their lunch for Testudo. Do you think that this campaign will be successful?