FAU has a new creed: “We the students of Florida Atlantic University will embrace diversity, create opportunities, and be active leaders in our community. We are one Family, one Wave, and one FAU.”

The decision was put into legislation during Student Government’s Oct. 31 session.

The legislation further states that the creed will be “incorporated into all aspects of university life … university-wide residence halls … and in high-traffic areas around all campuses (ie. Breezeway in Boca Raton, the Student Union in Davie, and the Burrow in the Macarthur Honors College Campus).

This year marks the 50th anniversary of FAU since it officially opened its doors in 1964. And while FAU is relatively new, universities that were founded after FAU such as FIU and UNF already have student creeds or mottoes.

A motto for FAU began being considered this past summer when Student Body President Michael Cepeda, Boca Governor Kathryn Edmunds and President’s Chief of Staff Tara Levy visited several Florida universities and noticed mottoes at their entrances.

Dr. Corey King, Interim Vice President of Student Affairs, led a committee to create a creed. The group included Student Body Vice President Thomas DeMaio, President of College Panhellenic Association Eva Chalef and Chief of Staff of the Broward Campus Francine Coker.

King says the importance of having a creed is “the recognition of the values that the University’s students believe are important to uphold.”

The group worked together over summer to create a list of values they believed FAU students possess. DeMaio says he met with students on the Boca, Jupiter and Davie campuses and received positive feedback on the current suggestion.

The creation of a school creed is the sort of thing he campaigned on.  The Cepeda/DeMaio campaign slogan was, “Let’s build traditions together.” Thomas DeMaio believes that the students will come back in ten to twenty years, see the values and say, “Holy cow, I actually made that happen.

DeMaio emphasized the importance of student involvement in deciding upon the motto. When asked how students could submit their suggestions, he stated “The easiest way right now would be to reach out to student leaders that sit on the VPSA board. We have been talking about possibly making an online survey for students to give us some of their feedback.”

An official survey for all the FAU campuses was not created by Student Government prior to the decision. The University Press was able to put out a small independent survey where students were able to cast their vote anonymously if they chose.

There was no original deadline for the student motto due to the fact that SG wanted to get as much as student input before the final decision. SG Vice President Thomas DeMaio originally intended for the student advisory board to come to a final decision by the spring semester and then begin incorporating the creed in the campuses in the summer for fall students to see.

DeMaio could not be reached for follow-up questions regarding the sudden changes in deadline or the length of the decision making process.

By giving FAU and all of its campuses an official motto, Student Government hopes to establish “a value system for students [that] will provide characteristics that all students can strive to emulate; in turn, this will promote stronger school spirit and deeper bonds between the FAU student bodies,” according to the bill passed by the Boca House of Representatives.