Members of the campus community are invited to watch
more than 200 students show their purple pride when they participate in "The
Big Dip” ceremony Dec. 11 at Stephen F. Austin State University.
The event, which
is designated as the university’s official Mentor Ring presentation ceremony,
will begin at noon in the Twilight Ballroom of the Baker Pattillo Student
Center on campus.
The "Big Dip" refers to being "dipped in pride"
before students receive their Mentor Ring. When the presentation ceremony
concept originated in 2001, members of the Student Foundation Association
wanted to create a unique ritual for students to share before getting their
rings. The students came up with the idea of dyeing a hand purple as a way of
being "dipped in pride." In 2003, the Big Dip was
institutionalized to be held on Friday of "Dead Week”—the week before final
exams—of each fall and spring semester.
The Mentor Ring
program pairs students in their junior and senior years with successful SFA
alumni in mentor-type relationships. Students who purchase the Mentor Ring when
they reach junior status can decide whether or not to participate in the
mentoring program. Since the
program’s start, more than 200 SFA alumni have signed on to serve as mentors.
Some mentors interact with more than one student at a time.
Mitzi
Blackburn, director of activities and events for the SFA Alumni Association,
said the association actively searches for alumni to serve as mentors in the
program and encourages SFA faculty or staff members who want to participate to
contact the association. A mentor sign-up form also is available at
www.sfaalumni.com, the association’s website.
According to figures from the SFA Alumni
Association, approximately 3,500Mentor
Rings have been sold since the official ring program launched during Homecoming
2001. The ring design incorporates symbols and features specifically chosen to
capture the SFA experience.
For more
information about the program or to sign up to serve as a mentor, contact the
SFA Alumni Association at (936) 468.3407.
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