By Jennifer Flores
Build-a-Buddy, makes a comeback after its evident missing period last Fall Semester.
For years, Build-a-Buddy has been a long-standing event on campus that was held every semester by the office of Student Involvement. However, this year students noticed that the beloved tradition was missing from last semester’s roster of events.
Allison Cruz, Junior at Dominican shared her thoughts. “I was used to having Build-a-Buddy for the two semesters, Fall and Spring. Hearing about them, not having Build-a-Buddy during this last semester made me sad because it’s the biggest event at DU,” she said. “But hearing about it this spring semester, I was so happy. I’m glad the plushies they had this semester were good, but I wonder why they didn’t have the Build-a-Buddy last semester.”
Ultimately, the decision to cut the event was due to funding. Mimi Pena, assistant director of Student Involvement, expressed that there was no way around it.
“This event is extremely expensive, and so instead of hosting it twice a year-once per semester-we decide to expand it to just once a year” she said.
Pena added that this will most likely be how the event looks like, at least for the foreseeable future. “We like that it’s around spring, just cause fall is so busy already. So, to kick offspring in that way, it’s a great one, and it’s cute around Valentine’s Day.”
Another change that came up was the ticketing system. In previous semesters, there was a first-come-first serve structure which brought many problems.
“We definitely all saw students camping out all day, missing class. That line got really really long outside of The Underground. Sometimes you waited in line, and it wasn’t guaranteed that you would get a buddy,” Pena said.
The new plan debuted last spring semester, as they implemented a two-day event system. On one day, you would line up in front of the SIRC (Student Involvement Resource Center) to get a ticket, choose your buddy and a time-slot. The Underground would be reserved for the following day for the stuffing event. Students checked in during designated times and had the opportunity to enjoy that time with friends.
This structure made a comeback this semester, as students lined up on Tuesday, February 3rd for the chance to get a ticket.
For students like Alexa Contreras and Dania Villela, it seemed to be a smooth process as they only waited 30 minutes when approaching the end of the line at the last hour.
On event day, they attended together to build their buddies! As Freshmen, this was their first time participating in the event.
“We first saw this on Instagram, and it was very captivating right away. She [Villela] sent it to me, so we agreed to go,” Contreras said. “Honestly, it’s been really fun! I think it’s super cute, and I mean we got little matching bandanas and everything!”
Villela felt it was a good experience as well. “I appreciate them doing this for us and having a little down time, especially in between all the classes and everybody just being stressed out.”
“I think it is very much needed to have that sort of downtime. Cause classes have gotten especially stressful during these weeks because exams are coming up,” Contreras adds. “So, I think this is a good time to do something that’s fun and have us not have to be on a screen. We’re able to socialize.”
Though this event brought them joy and comfort, one thing they would change is claiming a ticket for a friend. This was another added element to the ticketing system. A student was able to reserve a spot for one friend as long as they showed a student ID.
“I think that was not the best. There were people that were waiting in line for longer and just the fact they didn’t get what they wanted, while some else had the opportunity to send somebody else for it,” Villela said.
Contreras made it known that towards the end, the organizers were no longer letting students claim separate tickets, which she feels should have been the standard from the beginning.
Pena expressed that feedback is always welcome. “Anyone can always visit our office, we have our email. We want to hear what’s working, what’s not working,” she said.
Just like previous semesters, Pena confirmed that the turn out for students was a success! All the buddies had left home with a new friend.
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