Take one or send one?

“I thought the event turned out to be a great success. I was a little sad that they didn’t have anymore moose by the time I got there, but I’m happy with my lion,” said sophomore Ashley Myers.

Seton Hill Programming Board (SHPB) planned an event called “Take a bear, Send a bear.” The students were able to come in, but first had to get their ID’s scanned. Then they were able to choose from many animals such as brown/black bears, moose, dogs, monkeys, penguins and giraffes.

After choosing the animal the students would get a heart and a t-shirt for it, as well as a mini birth certificate and stuffing. The parlors in admin (the main building where classes are held) were open for the students to have space to stuff their animals and send them off as gifts if they wanted.

“I chose a penguin because the eyes were fabricated and sewn into it, rather than looking beady eyed like the other animals and it was kind of sassy looking and very cute,” said sophomore Amy Podoletz.

“The event was absolutely fantastic. Having to start an event an half hour early because the line was wrapped around the corner is a great problem to have,” said director of student involvement, Elise Michaux.

Michaux had a company call her about a project they were putting on called Bear to build and she agreed to do the project.

“We ordered a bunch of animals and everyone on the SHPB chose their favorite, which is why we had such a large variety,” said Michaux.

Seton Hill’s receptionist Sheri Ventrone gave Michaux the idea of incorporating Valentine’s Day into the event, so that the students could send the animals off to friends or anonymously.

“Sam Robbins created Valentine designs for guys and girls and we got them put on cards. She had also mentioned that the students could send the animals if they wanted and we had named the event Take a bear, Send a bear,” said Michaux.

This event, just like the magic show with Joel Meyers, turned out to be a great success. The SHPB tries to promote events that the students are interested would like to see on campus. Students that are part of SHPB speak to their friends and peers on campus to see what their interests are and if they can pull them off.

“Back when I was at Slippery Rock the build a bear event was popular and I didn’t realize how many students would be so eager and excited to build animals,” said Michaux. “We like to have the students opinions about events because it gives them a chance to get their voices heard. As well, we’re creating a slogan which is We Bring Campus to Life,” she said.

Last year there was an event hosted which was like this, but not many students had been informed about it.

“I didn’t even know they had one of these events last year. They didn’t make it as known as they did this year,” said Myers.

“I honestly didn’t think that many students were going to show up, but I knew students would come because it was free and the animals were really cute,” said Michaux.

“They had a small pile of penguins and I got there really early, so I was able to get a moose,” said junior Alexandra Parady.

Due to the big success of this years event, the SHPB has already began to think of ways to plan next year’s event.

“We had a great system with this years event and the balloons made it festive, but next year I want to make this event bigger and add a photo booth and candy,” said Michaux.

Published By: Laramie Cowan