The University Program Board (UPB) and Weisenfluh spread the love this holiday season by planning two big events to celebrate this Valentine’s Day.
UPB hosted a Valentine’s Day event on Wednesday, Feb. 10, in the Smith Student Center Ballroom. The festivities went into Thursday, Feb. 11, when Weisenfluh held its Date Night dinner in the faculty dining room in Weisenfluh.
Junior public relations major and director of university events for UPB, Ian Banks said UPB wanted to bring a fun atmosphere to students on campus, whether a student is really excited for Valentine’s Day, or whether a student hates the holiday.
“We figured we could do something that would please everyone,” Banks said.
Banks said that people saw stuffed animals due to the $5 Stuff-A-Plush, a chocolate dipping fountain with Oreos, Nutter Butters, marshmallows and other sweet desserts, and a photo booth with fun props for students to take pictures with.
“We also had candy grams that people could make with whatever candy they want attached with a note to give to their valentine,” Banks said.
Banks said the Stuff-A-Plush animals are always a hit around Valentine’s Day. He also said the photo booth and the chocolate fountain are interchangeable, but they are well-liked by students, so he decided to bring it back.
H.O.P.E was also in attendance at the event to discuss safe sex trends to the students.
Banks illustrated that a great deal of work goes into planning the event, which is something that students do not get to see.
“From contacting the agencies to see their availabilities, to reserving the ballroom, to collaborating with other organizations like H.O.P.E, to getting our committee members to volunteer to participate, there is a lot of behind the scenes work,” said Banks.
To continue the Valentine’s Day holiday events, Weisenfluh hosted its annual Date Night dinner. The event began years ago when the resident director and the marketing specialists in the AVI office partnered together to come up with an event to provide something special for the students around Valentine’s Day.
Director of Operations for AVI, Sharon Patterson said AVI wanted to host the Date Night dinner again because they like to do something for the students to make Valentine’s Day an enjoyable time by providing a nice meal that is more upscale.
Patterson explained that the menu choices come from the entire AVI office that works with the chefs to come up with ideas to provide something different to the students than what they would normally have for dinner.
“We see what we have in-house and what we can make that is fun and different to make it more special for the students,” Patterson said.
It takes the team several weeks to plan everything for the event, Patterson said.
“Once we develop the menu, we add the marketing piece to it, and the day of the event we set up the tables and make sure it’s an inviting atmosphere,” Patterson said.
