DIY Dorm Décor On Campus Fun
I've noticed that BUnow articles typically have banners at the top, so here's a candid shot of the ballroom. Photo by Elizabeth Mauser.
The first Thursday of Bloomsburg classes, KUOSI held an engaging and entirely free DIY Dorm Décor ft. Customizable Street Sign Shop event from 7-10 p.m. in the Kehr Student Union Ballroom. August 24 was a night of fun, food, plants, and a sign with whatever words you wanted displayed in your dorm room- as well as a promise of Husky Gold for a lucky few.
The head honcho that organized the event was George Kinzel, the Director of Student Involvement on campus. Kinzel, commonly known as “GK” by his students, had hope for the night before the doors were even opened.
The main event of the night was the custom street shop signs, each individually printed for every student. Designs that said “I love ___” and a green avenue road sign with your choice of street name were tied for the most popular sign designs, with “Stay Calm and ___ On!” being a close second. Participants at the event had the chance to create a sign, as well as stop by a succulent stand, a postcard station, a hat designing table, and eat as much food and dessert as they desired.
But before anything: the anticipation. The event was extremely popular, with the line for entry extending into the hallways of Kehr Union. The smartest students knew to save their place in line by showing up an hour early with homework, card games, or even a Nintendo Switch as one student did.
Taylor, the third person in line, came nearly two hours early as she recalled her past experiences with favorable events hosted by KUOSI. Further down the line, Keith Boyd shared that he was excited to make his own sign despite the wait.
When the doors to the ballroom finally opened at 7 p.m., students filed in to create their signs. All of the staff of the night worked tirelessly in preparation for this event, but perhaps the most hardworking were the three who handled the printing of all the signs. Vigorously printing each sign and placing the letters, the staff would call out the order number for students to retrieve their customized sign upon completion.
Many were soon driven to the succulent stand, of which they could plant their own chosen succulent into a pot of dirt and then spray with a mist of water. Camden, the SI Treasurer and a longtime member of KUOSI hosted the table. He thanks all the green-thumbed students who picked up a plant, who will do a much better job than he would at keeping them alive.
Neighboring the plant stand was the decorating table, AKA the hat place. Landon, a sophomore member of SI who watched over the pile of hats and bags of clay as a pirate would guard his treasure, enjoyed his position as hat master. Hats were the third most popular item to take away from event, as students designed them with markers and stickers. Anna Schlecht, a senior student who first heard of the event through social media, marvelously decorated her hat with a fun design in marker.
Jordan Villafaña dream board and postcard table. Villafaña, a senior member of SI, helped students to craft collages and write letters to home with numerous options of colored construction paper, magazine clippings, and more.
When students were satiated by the DIY stands, they were provided dinner tables to munch on macaroni, grilled cheese, or jasmine rice and steamed broccoli as they waited for their sign to be printed. The KUOSI staff serving the food that night were Alli, the Superintendent of SI, Adrian, Kendall, and others. Kendall, a freshman and newbie to Student Involvement, got an intense workout dishing out a combination of brownies and ice cream for dessert.
This DIY event was one of three main DIY craft events planned for this semester and was voted by students as the biggest hit of the three reoccurring DIY events, GK stated. Erin McConaghy, a participant of the previous DIY event Stuff-A-Critter, said that “…Stuff-A-Critter I felt was fun, and although there were some flaws with Dorm Decor, they definitely had more fun activities to do while you wait[ed] for your sign to be completed.”
KUOSI’s DIY events first started three years ago, functioning as a grab-and-go event during the COVID-19 pandemic. Michael R, a junior student at Bloomsburg, endeavors to come to more events like this in the future.
Nodir, SI’s Social Media Correspondent, told me of future big events planned for the semester. Be on the lookout for Fruitopia, a November event stuffed to the brim with more craft activities and pumpkin carving, and Ho Ho Husky Holidays taking place near Finals Week in December.
There was one last activity for the night: a giveaway. Participants sent a photo of their evening items to be considered, and then GK and Nodir drew from those submissions. The reward for the multiple winners was a free T-shirt and $20 in Husky Gold! A lucky Christiana B. proudly displayed her T-shirt afterwards. And for non-fashion fans, the Gold straight from GK’s wallet might have been an incentive.
Follow KUOSI’s instagram, @bustudentinvolvement, to keep track of all upcoming events.
