The first week of spring semester classes at the University of Connecticut can be a busy time as students adjust to new routines and the incessant cold. For those who can find time in their fresh schedules, it can be a great opportunity to get immersed in new activities before classes ramp up in intensity and the stress increases.
“Craft”ernoon, an event hosted by UConn Student Activities on Wednesday, Jan. 21, was one such occasion. Held on the third floor of the Student Union, the event brought students together, allowing them to work on crafts with friends, alone or with new people.
There was a variety of supplies available for students to make use of in their creative endeavors. String, beads and small plastic letters were set up to be fashioned into friendship bracelets. Small paint kits went along with different suncatcher designs, while coloring books and markers were at hand for those who wanted a less messy activity. There were even square paper and origami booklets for those who wanted to turn colored sheets into different animal designs. For students who wanted to have fun with friends without focusing on crafts, there was also a variety of board games to use.
Students flowed in and out of the space from 2 to 4 p.m., with some putting a quick craft together while others spent more time honing a specific design. Some students came over before or after attending “The School Supply Drop,” an event hosted in the adjacent Student Union Ballroom by the UConn Undergraduate Student Government and Academic Affairs Committee, providing free school supplies around the same time.
Molly Deptula, a sixth-semester entertainment engineering major, was one of the students with free time in the afternoon who came by for the event.
“I saw the Instagram post and thought it would be fun,” Deptula said.
Deptula worked on a variety of origami designs, ranging from birds to pianos to foxes, with her friend Kiley Roy, a sixth-semester student majoring in pathobiology. Another one of her friends, Leo Boss, a sixth-semester entertainment engineering major, arrived later and worked on bracelets.
“Some things I made successfully, some things I made unsuccessfully, but with all of the things, I had a good time,” Deptula said.
Another committed attendee was Silas Segar, an English student who just began his first semester at UConn after graduating from the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system with an associate’s degree. Segar stopped by after a class and worked on a couple of bracelets, one that was orange and one that was purple.
Segar said that as a transfer student, he feels like a “new kid on the block,” so events like these are helping him get acclimated to UConn.
“I just transferred, so it’s sort of trying to go to different places and attempt at meeting people, because I don’t know anyone here,” Segar said.
While at the Student Union, Segar said he was able to talk to new people who gave information about future opportunities to get involved on campus.
For students interested in similar events, UConn Student Activities is hosting a “Board Game Cafe” on Friday, Jan. 23, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. in room 109 of McHugh Hall.