ASUSU throws Back to School Extravaganza
Henna tattoos, photo booth, face paint, and “Pitch Perfect.” Put these four things together, add some snacks and a room full of USU students and it equals the Back to School Extravaganza.
Presented by ASUSU, the event gave students a chance to see their peers for the first time as well as meet new people since returning from the winter break.
“It’s really great to see everyone after the break because I haven’t really had the chance yet,” said freshman Marley Mcclune.
Hannah Blackburn, ASUSU activities director, coordinated Wednesday’s event, which was held on the second floor of the Taggart Student Center. She said she had been planning the event since August.
“Students came to me and asked my why there isn’t a welcome back week in the spring,” Blackburn said. “So I decided we would try just one activity to test the waters.”
Set up in the TSC International Lounge was henna tattooing, a photo booth, face painting and a balloon artist. The new release “Pitch Perfect” was set up for students to view in the TSC Ballroom.
The ASUSU Activities Committee spent $3,000 for the Extravaganza, which is the normal budget for every event in the Aggie Event Series.
Sophomore Alexis Allen attended the event with Mcclune.
“We’ve seen ‘Pitch Perfect’ a ton and we really love it,” Allen said. “It never gets old.”
Blackburn said “Pitch Perfect” was the best fit because it is geared toward the college demographic and it’s a movie everyone at USU can enjoy.
Nate Elmer, a freshman at USU, attended the event with fellow freshmen Peter Hartvigson and James Neely and junior John Bennion.
“We were just walking through and we saw a bunch of people so we stopped by,” Elmer said. “The cookies are great. A little more food could always be good.”
Blackburn said most on-campus events have been best attended by freshmen and sophomores, but in this case even upperclassmen were interested in the event.
“I don’t go to a lot of events, but this sounded fun,” said senior Mackenzie Matthews. “Free food, henna, lots of friends and I think ‘Pitch Perfect’ will be fun.”
For Matthews, the biggest selling point was the henna tattoos.
“Henna sounds way cool and it will definitely be worth the wait in line,” Matthews said.
Other students were not as willing to wait in the lines as Matthews was.
“I think they need more going on so people don’t have to wait in the long lines,” Allen said.
This semester marked the first time a welcome back event like this one had taken place.
“We want to learn from this event and make next year’s is even better,” Blackburn said. “When students come to us with suggestions, we really do want to fulfill them.”
379 students responded to the Facebook event invite and even more attended in response to the wire banners hung on the first and second floors of the TSC, as well as posts on Twitter.
“Rather than just sitting at home watching TV or just hanging out with the same people, this is an opportunity for them to meet new people, get accustomed to campus, and to see what campus events are like coming here to Utah State,” Blackburn said.
– bec.eis@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @bestfriendbeck