Five per cent of proceeds from the bookstore’s 50th anniversary collection will go to students bursaries
Christine Beyleveldt // News Editor
Students are being encouraged to wear their Capilano University branded clothing on Tuesdays to commemorate the school’s 50th anniversary. During President Paul Dangerfield’s bi-annual President’s Perspective speech on Jan. 12, the bookstore also released its 50th anniversary line, which includes special “Cap Love Tuesdays” branded clothing specifically for the occasion.
“We’ve worked with members of the [50th anniversary] committee, developed this clothing line that we hope will capture the spirit of the 50th anniversary, will make all members of the campus community proud – staff, students, alumni, visitors, parents,” said bookstore manager Brian Ball. “You know, proud to wear something from the University that shows a little bit about who we are and how we feel about the place.”
Last summer the bookstore and the University brought together two focus groups, one consisting of students and alumni and another one of staff. The 50th anniversary committee presented a variety of products, including tops, outerwear, mugs and water bottles. They took feedback on pricing, colours and functionality of the branded items and used that information to build their collection.
Five per cent of proceeds from clothing sales are going towards the CapU Foundation, which funds student bursaries. This also marks the first time the bookstore has collaborated with the larger community. Ball estimates that the proceeds will translate into thousands of dollars going back to students and helping them achieve their educational goals.
The University and the bookstore have been working together for about eight months to bring this line of branded items to fruition. “We wanted to make sure we captured all markets, so the faculty, staff, students, alum, and various age groups as well, so you know people who are just entering university to people who have been employed here for decades,” said Ball.
In the last four to five years, he explained that the bookstore has been collaborating with separate departments to create clothing specifically designed for students in Communication, Legal Studies, Jazz and Music Therapy. “It’s a trend that I think it’s becoming more prominent and students are sort of seeing they’ve got their department name on their clothing and they identify very closely with their department and they want to advertise that fact I guess,” he said.
The 50th anniversary branded clothing line, however, was developed to be distinct from more traditional CapU clothing. The branded clothing is bright, reflecting the colours of CapU’s new logo that was unveiled a little over a year ago. It stands in stark contrast with the popular greys, blacks and navy blues CapU clothing traditionally comes in. “One of the things I’m really pleased about is the way the colours have been embraced,” Ball said.
The branded clothing hit shelves in January and before the month was over Ball had to reorder a new set of clothing to restock the bookstore.