Despite cold conditions and snow that came down just as the event started, nothing stopped hundreds of University of Connecticut students from forming an endless line around the Student Union for their chance at free ice cream.
The Student Union Board of Governors’ (SUBOG) annual “One Ton Sundae” event returned on Friday, Feb. 20.
“I was really hoping it wouldn’t snow,” SUBOG Major Weekends Chair Chi-Chi Onoh said. “But, you know, better snow than rain. That’swhat we’ve been saying this whole entire week.”
Two of the first in line, eighth-semester students Andrew Clarkin and Ashley Tan, said that they and their friends took turns standing in line since about 8 a.m.
Tan, who has been coming to the event since her freshman year, said that this was the closest to the front that she had ever started.
“Last year, I think I got here at like 9:30 a.m., and we were way back,” Tan said.
Clarkin, who first came to the event last year after transferring from the Community College of Rhode Island, said that the UConn Dairy Bar ice cream is a big draw.
“The Dairy Bar ice cream, you get all the flavors,” Clarkin said. “The experience is just hanging out with friends in the cold.”
Beyond just the ice cream, Onoh said that the event is a bonding opportunity.
“It’s a UConn tradition,” Onoh said. “I also like [when] people bond with people in the line.”
Once students reached the front of the line, they were given plastic beach buckets with the event logo that fittingly featured an illustration of a snowy Student Union.
“Some people just come for a bucket,” Onoh said. “They don’t even get ice cream. It’s just like a little crazy to me. But they’re really herefor the experience.”
Students donned plastic gloves and scooped ice cream from one of two large boats filled with emptied three-gallon tubs of Dairy Bar favorites, ranging from Oreo to Mint Chocolate Chip.
Flavors containing allergens like peanuts, such as Husky Tracks, were available at a separate table.
Once students filled their buckets, they also had the choice to add toppings before reaching the merch table. There, students spun a wheel for a chance to win a pair of SUBOG-branded pajama pants or a mug with the same logo featured on the buckets.
Representatives from M&T Bank also set up shop on the terrace, walking down the line of students handing out winter hats and knit gloves with the UConn Huskies logo.
With all the different features of the event, SUBOG had been planning since winter break, Onoh said.
“Once I came into this role, it’s always something that I knew: ‘This is gonna happen and it’s gonna be one of the big things,’ becauseeveryone goes to One Ton Sundae,” Onoh said. “So it just takes a lot of time and preparation.”
Though extensive preparation was involved and the weather didn’t cooperate, students still showed up for one of UConn’s most iconic yearly events.
“It’s just so nice to see everyone out here,” Onoh said.