Student members of ASU’s Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative wore black Friday in lieu of the traditional gold to commemorate the death of Apple Inc. cofounder Steve Jobs.
The students’ shirts were all black, with catchphrases in bold white lettering reading “bootstrapped,” “entrepreneur” and “catalyst.”
The Edson initiative is an ASU program that provides student entrepreneurs with funding for their new businesses, as well as workspace and mentorship.
The T-shirts were given out at the program’s entrepreneur Q&A session at ASU SkySong in Scottsdale.
Wear Black For Steve Day was launched by two men via Facebook. They also created a website for the event.
The idea was that by donning black, people could honor Jobs.
“We thought it was a great way to participate in the ‘Wear Black for Steve Jobs’ because we are already doing an event that focuses on entrepreneurship and innovation,” said Meagan Garrett, marketing and communications manager at ASU SkySong.
While black is commonly associated with funerals, Brent Sebold, program manager of Economic Development and Global Enterprise at the Initiative, said wearing black was not about mourning. Instead, it was a way to pay homage to Jobs because of the trademark black turtlenecks he often wore.
Every Sun Devil has something in common with Jobs, Sebold said.
“ASU is all about interdisciplinary thoughts, teamwork and collaboration, and entrepreneurship is woven into that fabric,” Sebold said.
Staff at ASU SkySong usually promotes the long-held University tradition of wearing gold on Fridays.
“We sent out a memo that students are to immediately change into gold as soon as they leave here,” Sebold joked.
Business marketing sophomore Alix Parker said Jobs is inspirational not only because of his entrepreneur spirit but because of his innovative products and marketing techniques.
“All the Apple products have a unique look to them,” Parker said. “The way they interact with the customer, the products basically just sell themselves.”
Other than Jobs’ impact on technology, Garrett said he was an admirable human being in the way he conducted himself on a personal level.
Referring to Jobs’ departure from Apple Inc. in 1985 and return in 1996, Garrett said, “To go back and to revamp the company and to bring it back to what it currently is, I think shows that he is an incredible man, both personally and professionally.”
Reach the reporter at lghuffer@asu.edu
Editor's Note: This story has been updated because of a correction.
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