From: Phil deHaan (dehp@calvin.edu)
Date: Tue Mar 04 2003 - 15:11:52 EST
March 4, 2003 == MEDIA UPDATE
The Calvin College "Harry Potter" tie continues to fly off the shelves of the
college's bookstore at a magical clip.
The tie is really a Calvin tie with maroon and gold, diagonal stripes (maroon
and gold are the Calvin colors). But it looks just like the tie Harry Potter
wears (since his school colors are maroon and gold). And when Harry Potter
fans type "maroon and gold tie" into a search engine, such as Google or Yahoo,
the first website URL that is displayed belongs to the bookstore at Calvin.
That coincidence led to some media coverage back in December 2002 when sales
from the previous two months were up about three times from the previous year.
In fact, in October and November of 2002 about 20 maroon and gold ties were
sold via the Calvin website.
But those sales were just the beginning. In December 2002, after the
coverage, the Bookstore sold 78 ties! They sold another 37 in January 2003 and
recorded 42 sales in February 2003 for a total of 157 ties in just three
months. Bookstore employees say no Calvin tie has ever sold in such
quantities.
So how does Calvin, one of the country's top Christian colleges, feel about
its accidental association with Harry Potter, criticized in some religious
circles for its wizards and spells.
Well, last year the Calvin alumni magazine, Spark, did a feature story on
Harry Potter. In that piece, Calvin English professor Don Hettinga said of the
books: "I think they're great. The stories are engaging, but beyond that there
is a moral dimension. There are some very worthwhile themes in the book. Kids
who are 'outsiders' and then become the heroes; that's the stuff of a good
story. The books are formulaic with predictable characters, but there's always
a surprise in the end. The evil figure is never who you thought it would be."
And Calvin vice president of enrollment and external relations Tom McWhertor
says: ""Harry Potter seems to be a bright student who's also humble and willing
to help a friend. So he's the kind of student we have at Calvin. And he
wouldn't have to buy a new necktie to come here."
See a picture of the tie and background info at
http://www.calvin.edu/news/releases/2002_03/potter_tie.htm
See the Spark story on Harry Potter at
http://www.calvin.edu/publications/spark/fall01/harry.htm
-end-
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