Students fete Pelton on eve of inauguration
Inaugural events for Emerson College’s 12th president, Lee Pelton, began Wednesday with an event called “The Students of Emerson College Present: The Pride of the Pack Inauguration Kick Off” in the Bill Bordy Theater and Auditorium.
“A lot of the inauguration events are beautiful, but they are formal, and what we wanted to be was ‘hashtag So Emerson’ and do it in a way we would want to do it,” said Sharon Duffy, associate dean of students. “So it’s really from the students for the president in celebration of his inauguration.”
While the Inauguration Committee has been meeting for more than a year to plan the formal inauguration events, Duffy was brought in to run the student inauguration event. After meeting with Dean of Students Ronald Ludman, Student Government Association President Tau Zaman ’13 and Graduate Student Association President Sarah Martin, Duffy said the four came up with an event that they believed would not only appeal to students but to President Pelton, too.
The event featured a lineup of entertaining activities from a red carpet leading to the theater’s entrance to a photo booth and an assortment of desserts. The night included a screening of a video by Emerson Productions, of co-host Megan Mitchell ‘14 frantically searching for President Pelton until she finally bursts through the doors of the theater to find Pelton at his own inaugural event.
“Jane Pikor and Sharon Duffy came to me with this idea. They told me that they thought I would be great for this role; so, of course, I accepted it,” said Mitchell. “I loved the idea. I thought it was so funny.”
Following the video and presentation of a scrapbook of the photo-booth photos taken during the event to President Pelton, attendees mingled and grabbed slices of the custom-made Cutler Majestic Theatre cake.
“I couldn’t be happier,” said Duffy. “There were so many students there, and they really enjoyed the spirit. It really was ‘hashtag So Emerson.’”
Photo Credit: Aja Neahring ’13
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