The Baldwin Wallace Student Life Office is launching BW’s first “100 Jacket Days Instagram Challenge.” Students enter by posting pictures of themselves on Instagram at a Baldwin Wallace function that falls under one of the “100 Jacket Day Themes” for 100 days throughout the fall semester.
Themes include attending a sporting event, the homecoming parade, making a new friend, and taking a selfie with President Helmer. Every Monday at noon between Aug. 25 and Dec. 7, a winning picture will be chosen and “regrammed” on BW’s Instagram page. Each student who posts a winning picture will receive a $5 Chipotle gift card.
Kathy Petras, the Office Manager of the Student Life Center, came up with the idea for the challenge. Throughout the years, Petras, along with student workers, have created posters that advertised campus activities that freshmen could participate in within the first 100 days of the school year. .
This year, Petras was inspired by BW’s February Instagram Challenge that allowed students to post pictures on Instagram with the hash tag, #BWFebChallenge.
A different  category was assigned every day throughout February, and the photographer of the winning picture received a prize.
When Petras asked students about campus life promotion campaigns for the 2014-2015 school year, they immediately thought of this challenge and decided to incorporate Instagram into their annual campaign.
The 100 Jacket Days Challenge allows students to post a photo representing any theme on the challenge’s website. Petras wants to take advantage of the current popularity of Instagram, believing that incorporating a social media platform used regularly will motivate many students to participate in campus activities.
“The main goal of this challenge is for students to feel connected to campus and get engaged,” Petras said. “It is also a great way to showcase BW as a fun campus.”
The target audience for BW’s 100-day Challenge is  freshmen, but all students are encouraged to participate in the Instagram challenge.
Freshman Lydia Maendal, an avid Instagram user, has been taking advantage of the 100 Jacket Days Challenge.
“This challenge inspires connections and fosters community,” Maendal said, “it is a celebration of everything all the organizations on campus are doing on their own and how every student can be involved in different ways.”
Stephanie Winn, another freshman, has also shown enthusiasm for the Instagram challenge.
“It is a great way to connect with our school and it seems to bring us all one step closer to each other,” Winn said. “Just by viewing pictures around campus, I have seen that there are many opportunities for every student.”
To participate, students must follow @bwstudentlife and @baldwinwallace on Instagram, and include the hash tag #100JacketDays with the picture posted. The picture categories can be found at http://www.bw.edu/100jacketdays.