‘Red Out’ Set to Hit East Hill on Saturday

The field hockey, football, men’s soccer and women’s soccer teams are all hosting Princeton on Saturday, and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is taking advantage of the opportunity to unite the Cornell campus.
If all goes according to plan, the stands will be filled with red-shirted Cornell fans from 12 p.m., when field hockey’s match starts on Marsha Dodson Field, to 9 p.m., when the women’s soccer team’s game should end at Berman Field.
SAAC designed red t-shirts for fans to wear to Saturday’s sporting marathon — which the committee is calling the “Red Out.”
“What we’re trying to do with the Red Out is get as much of the Cornell community out this Saturday [to support Cornell athletics as we can],” said senior field hockey player Eva Olesky, the president of SAAC. “That is one of the obstacles at such a big school — to unite everyone.”
“All the teams are playing Princeton … so what we’re basically trying to do is unite the Cornell community against Princeton,” she added with a laugh.
Red Out has been in the making since last year’s SAAC president met with representatives from other Ivies and learned that “some of them have one big push for all the people to come out,” according to Olesky.
Last semester, SAAC attempted to hold a similar event but lacked enough time or organization. This year, the committee teamed up with the Red Key Athlete Honor Society and Sports Marketing Group to fully promote the Red Out.
“SAAC has been selling the shirts,” Olesky said. “That’s what we’re doing to do our part as the main organizer of the Red Out. Red Key is helping to promote it among Cornell athletes by including it in their Cornell Cup.”
The Cornell Cup, which was last awarded two years ago, awards points to each varsity athletic team based on their GPA, Ivy League competition and community service. To encourage participation, the varsity teams will also get points toward the Cornell Cup based on their players wearing red in the stands on Saturday.
“This is the first year that we’re trying to work together more,” said senior lightweight rower Mike Gavalas, a member of Red Key Society. “The Red Out was originally a SAAC event to get as many people to come to the football game on Saturday as possible, selling t-shirts and raising money for charity.”
The t-shirts are being sold for $8 at Trillium and Statler during lunch hours this week until tomorrow. However, Olesky expects to sell most of the shirts at the athletic events themselves on Saturday. The committee will have reps at the various athletic fields.
Going along with SAAC and Red Key’s mission to promote community service, part of the t-shirt proceeds will be donated to Ithaca Kitchen Cupboard.
“T-shirt sales have been going pretty well,” Gavalas said. “I don’t know how many they have left. … But they’re pretty cool, I bought one.”