Central Washington University Continues to ‘Light It Blue’

Central Washington University's historic Barge Hall has joined the ranks of buildings and landmarks across the country illuminated in blue light to show respect and encouragement to those on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This is our acknowledgment of the national Light It Blue campaign," said Kremiere Jackson, CWU vice president of Public Affairs, during the initial campus lighting ceremony on Wednesday (April 15). "Central Washington University wants to visually display its steadfast support for the tireless efforts of health care professionals and all essential workers during this unprecedented time."

The blue lighting of Barge Hall will take place nightly between 9:00 and 11:00 p.m. through April 30. While the university encourages everyone to continue to observe social distancing, campus and community members are welcome to drive by to witness the display.

Drew Carter, assistant director of CWU Student Union Operations, led the technical staff that set up the 30 "uplights" needed for the project. "Those lights are part of our inventory," Carter explained. "We use them for a variety of productions and presentations we have in the SURC (Student Union and Recreation Center). But, since we can't do any this quarter, we thought this would be a great way to make use of some of those lights."

It was CWU student Alexis Guy who suggested Barge Hall was the right place for the lights to be shown. Guy, who is majoring in accounting and minoring in theatre, is also a SURC student media technician. She worked on the Barge lighting project.

"Last year, during Pride Week, we displayed the SURC in rainbow colors," said Guy, a senior from Vancouver, Washington. "But I didn't think the SURC was the right place this time because it is not a public-facing building. People would have to be going there to see it. Since there is not a lot of foot traffic at the SURC right now, Barge was the first building that came to my mind."

Media contact: Robert Lowery, Public Affairs, 509-963-1487, Robert.Lowery@cwu.edu

NOTE: Built in 1893, Barge Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. A major two-year renovation of the facility was completed in 1993.