Back in 1996, Sunny Gittens was asked to create a new tradition for UNLV to cap off opening week of the fall semester. Brainstorming, and a little borrowing from other universities, led to the now 10-year tradition of Premier UNLV. The name was chosen because of timing (television shows premier in the fall) and because UNLV had recently adopted the phrase "premier urban research university" to describe its aspirations.
The first year, much to Gittens' surprise, more than 800 students showed up at North Field to light up the school's acronym with flashlights. The event has evolved into a nightlong celebration with a picnic, student organization fair, and local bands in concert. Getting a crowd count is difficult, but this year's attendance easily topped 2,000.
Gittens will tell you her favorite year was 1998, "the first year you could really tell there were students out there holding the flashlights." But we suspect otherwise. A year later, fireworks went off in more than one sense when she met her future husband, Tom, who was part of the crew hired to provide pyrotechnics.
