Photo via Thomas Gunter
The streets of Bradleys campus will receive a bit of a makeover, as street signs all over campus will be amended in an effort to increase school spirit.
The renovations will be funded by the Joanne Glasser Endowed Tradition and Spirit award, which was created in the name of Bradleys previous president, known for her push for strong student involvement and academic success. The Glasser award was first implemented in May of 2016, with a purpose of enhancing Bradleys living and working environment by improving campus traditions and spirit, making this project the first to benefit from the award.
The project includes replacing the current traditional green street signs on campus and upgrading them with a sense of Bradley identity. The signs will have a red base color with white lettering and will include the Bradley logo. The customized signs will be in a radius stretching north to Main Street, south to Fredonia Avenue, east to N. Bourland Avenue and west to N. Cooper Street.
The street signs will be cost-free to Bradley students, as it is an endowed award. The city of Peoria will also handle the costs of putting up the signs.
Responsible for the design is Mitchell Pericak, an electrical engineering major who graduated from Bradley in 2017. Pericak said the street sign idea came from the help of his friends and roommates two years ago, while he attended Bradley.
When I saw the award posted [by the Student Affairs office], I knew I wanted to get involved, Pericak said. I was very involved while I was here at Bradley, and I always wanted to do something that had a permanent impression. After brainstorming with some friends and a couple of people I lived with, we somehow came up with the thought hey, other campuses have this too why dont we try to have [custom] street signs?
Pericak said he tested his engineering skills and began laying out thorough project plans.
I wanted to [simply] take action, Pericak said. Im the type of person that when I get an idea in my head, I just roll with it. I did all my research by calling different companies. I got quotes on prices, determined where we should replace the signs, that sort of stuff.
Pericaks plans impressed Renee Charles, university spokesperson and executive director of public relations, who said his ideas went beyond Bradleys expectations.
His plans were very impressive and elaborate, Charles said. We were very happy with how the project looked on paper, which led us to becoming heavily involved in the idea.
Pericak said he credits his detailed planning to the work he completed while involved with Bradleys tech crew.
When I was on the tech crew team, we had to plan ahead of time and we had to plan it right. If we didnt, there was no guarantee that an event would even happen, Pericak said. When I designed the street sign project with the help of my friends, I made sure I had everything laid out I wanted to hand over a finished project. I knew that if I was able to do that, then my chances of having the project come to a reality would be much higher.
After Pericaks project was determined the winner of the Glasser award, a few issues resulted. One problem stemmed from the color. Red is considered a controversial color for street signs since stop signs are red.
Additionally, quoted prices for the proposed double-sided, single-plate signs exceeded prices of normal Peoria signs because the city uses two single-sided plates screwed together. According to Pericak, these issues made the project slightly more expensive and caused the finalization of the project to take a bit longer than expected.
Charles said the project needed to be approved by the city council first before being implemented, which contributed to the time delay. However, as of Sept. 12, the city approved the project, and the signs are officially in production but a completion date has not been determined.
Overall, students at Bradley seem to enjoy the idea of having customized street signs. According to sophomore entrepreneurship major Connor Reece, implementing Bradley street signs is a good way of improving school spirit on campus.
Having the signs is [a great way] of showing that you are on Bradleys campus, Reece said. It will be cool looking at the street signs and seeing Bradleys [logo] and knowing that you are home. The signs will also make the freshmen experience even cooler, seeing them as you drive into campus, making you feel like youve made the right decision enrolling at a university with school spirit.
Other students echoed the sentiment, and believe the award money can be used for larger projects in the future.
I think its cool how the award allows students to come up with ideas to improve school spirit, since we are the ones who benefit from it, junior accounting major Lindsey Kolkmeyer said. The Bradley street signs are definitely a step in the right direction, but not as big of a step getting a football team would be. I think thats really what the students want.
With this being the first project the Joanne Glasser Endowed Tradition and Spirit award has funded, Charles said she encourages students to think of ideas that can benefit the award.
Im happy that this award is receiving attention, said Charles. We are thrilled that the first project proposed through the award has been successful so far. We hope even more students get involved and share their creative ideas on how to improves Bradleys school spirit.
Students who have project ideas or want to know more information on the project can visit the office of The Division of Student Affairs in Sisson Hall, room 100.
