Millennial Activism: "The New Community" in Action

If you didn't already know, "the Guys" of Employee Evolution bleed blue and white. We're die-hard Penn State alumni, and whenever we get the chance to revisit "Happy Valley" it's a take-no-prisoners all out bash honoring the best years of our life. This past weekend, we hit up State College, Pa, for the Nittany Lions' annual Blue and White game, which is basically an excuse to tailgate and watch our football players show us what they've got, but this year was something different, something absolutely astounding…

After we posted Virginia Tech and the New Definition of Community, we had some comments questioning how exactly technology could significantly impact Millennial activism. This weekend, the answer was as vivid as maroon and orange could be at an event founded on blue and white.

Students, alumni and fans of all ages showed up on Saturday wearing Virginia Tech's signature colors. It was a tribute unlike anything I had ever seen and the most astonishing part of all – it was all started by a handful of inspired college students. The event was organized through the power of the Internet. Facebook groups encouraging students and alumni to invade Beaver Stadium with maroon and orange began popping up early in the week. By the time Saturday rolled around, Penn State was "Hokie" State.

George Thompson and Bill Solomon, two students, gathered over 5,000 of their peers to form a "VT" in the student section where the traditional Penn State "S" usually stood. The Penn State Blue Band wore bright orange during their rendition of Amazing Grace and even Joe-Pa sported a Virginia Tech cap while he coached the team from the sidelines. How can Internet technology help us make a difference? The answer in Happy Valley was clear…

As one of our friends and critics pointed out in response to last week's post, "the amount of effort we put into our causes is what will create change." But it's hard to believe Penn State, what becomes the third largest city in Pennsylvania on a football weekend, could have rallied the way we did without a little help from the World Wide Web.