One of Union Board’s most popular events, Build-a-Tiger, was held in Geil Lounge on Feb. 13, the day before Valentine’s Day, so anyone who needed a last minute gift for their Valentine knew exactly where to go.
There were nine different types of small stuffed animals offered this year, including two different bears and the ever-classic tiger. Students would select the un-stuffed animal of their choice and fill it with as much stuffing as they wanted before sealing it up and taking it home. The animals were all small and adorable, and students could be seen taking pictures with their new furry friends.
“I love this event,” Ana Spiridigliozzi, ’21, said. “I go every year. Last year I made an elephant and gave it to my nephew.”
This year Spiridigliozzi made a black bear that she got to keep for herself.
Build-a-Tiger has been going on for eight years, started by Jon Duraj when he served as the advisor to Union Board in 2011. This year, one of the biggest changes made to the process was the introduction of pre-reserved and electronically-scanned tickets. In past years, hundreds of students lined up hours before the start of the event, wrapping down the hall past the Li Room and basically out of the door towards Shouvlin. And after hours of waiting, some students would have to be turned away because there were no more stuffed animals.
But this year, students reserved free tickets online, and then had them scanned electronically when they entered the event.
There was a still a long line wrapped throughout the first floor of the Student Center an hour before the event, but the fear of the event running out of stuffed animals before students got there was removed if they had reserved a ticket beforehand. After the tickets had all been scanned, the event was opened to anyone who still wanted a stuffed animal but hadn’t reserved a ticket.
“I believe the event was an immense success because of the adaptability of Union Board and their commitment to providing a social experience like Build-a-Tiger,” Kevin Carey, the current advisor to Union Board, said.
He also said that the electronic ticket process will be how Wittfest tickets will be sold later this semester.
