[ Watch the video of the Brand Launch Event ]

Something big was about to happen, and Daniel Lewis didn’t want to miss it.

So the freshman computer science and engineering major arrived at the E.H. Hereford University Center’s Bluebonnet Ballroom at 8:30 a.m. Feb. 15, textbooks and portable video game in tow. Never mind that the University’s brand launch celebration didn’t start for another 3 1/2 hours.

		Clockwise from top left: Hundreds of students paraded from the library mall to the E.H. Hereford University Center for the brand launch celebration. Free carnival food like cotton candy helped draw a crowd.
The first 1,000 in attendance received goodie bags that included t-shirts, temporary tattoos, cups, pens, CD holders, mouse pads, lanyards and bottle openers--all bearing the new logo. Students arrived as early as 8:30 a.m. for the noon event. The line to enter the Bluebonnet Ballroom stretched to the Central Library. Prize giveaways included a big-screen TV, an iPod and a Sony PlayStation.

 

“I thought it wouldn’t hurt to get in some studying for midterms and such. Once I finished my homework, I powered up my Nintendo DS,” he said. “Then I called a few of my friends to come join me.”

By noon his friends—and more than a thousand others—had arrived. The line snaked down the hall, around the corner, out the door and beyond the library mall. With the ballroom quickly reaching capacity, several hundred more filled the adjacent Rosebud Theatre where they watched the festivities on a giant video screen.

Inside, food booths lined the walls. Corny dogs, sausage on a stick, cotton candy and other fare created a carnival atmosphere. Student groups and athletes lined the stage to tell what being a maverick meant to them. President James D. Spaniolo talked about the “Be A Maverick” tagline, and confetti shot from the ceiling as he unveiled the new logo, which features a blue A trimmed in orange with a blue and white beveled star also trimmed in orange.

“I’ve had the luxury of working for several great universities, but I have never heard of nor seen such a successful student event, including athletics,” said Scott Self, director of development for the Graduate School and University Libraries. “Students were lined up from the University Center to the library mall. It was the greatest thing I have ever seen on a college campus.”

 

Clockwise from left: The UT Arlington Drumline led a student procession to the event. Confetti floated from the ceiling as cheers greeted the unveiling of the logo. "We transform lives by teaching critical-thinking skills and collaborative problem-solving. It's independent thinking--activated," President James D. Spaniolo told the crowd. "This is what it means to be a Maverick. This is UT Arlington."

— Mark Permenter