By Nadia Urbina, Apr. 12, 2022
The end of midterms week led students to “chillax” and unleash their creative side at ASI BEAT’s “Major ’90s DIY” event hosted on March 18 at the Bronco Commons.
At 3 p.m. the sound of NSYC’s “Bye Bye Bye” song filled the quiet commons area, signaling the start of the event. Students lined up to check in with a QR code and received a picnic blanket and a wristband to grab food and supplies.
“As a committee we came up with the event together; we wanted to do something with tote bags and I was like, ‘why don’t we do ‘90s music?’” said students’ activity assistant for ASI BEAT and lead coordinator for this event, Julia Mora. “From there we made this whole thing. It was a group effort. It’s more like a laid-back event so people can connect with each other and just relax.”
After checking in, students picked which of the four ASI canopy pop-up tents to visit next. One tent handed out food options, where students could pick between a turkey or PB&J sandwich with chips and an apple on the side. The second tent handed out DIY air fresheners made of felt and sprayed with the attendee’s choice of scented essential oil and wrapped with twine. The third tent handed out tote bags with supplies to decorate the bag while the fourth tent provided iron-on patches and stickers reminiscent of ‘90s cartoons.
Once all attendees received their items, the decorating and DIY festivities started. Students decorated their bag with fabric markers provided by ASI. A collage of flowers, words of affirmations and doodles were seen all over their bags to create a one-of-a-kind statement piece.
“In my years in CPP I attended a lot of ASI events, and this is by far my favorite,” said sociology student Arisbeb Campos. “Usually, events don’t have as many things going on all in one. This is like a picnic, DIY, food and themed event. I truly appreciate that it’s happening on a Friday, kind of like a ‘yay the week is done’ type of thing.”
Tables to sit down, eat and decorate the complementary tote bag were filled with attendees. Other students opted to sit down in in the grass with their picnic blanket, eat their food and chat with their groups of friends.
According to Sarah Navarro, ASI BEAT’s student activities assistant and co-lead for this event, over 180 tote bags where available and supplies went fast.
“It’s a big turnout; this is what we were imagining, something chill, something where people could be comfortable and stay or taking and leaving,” said Navarro. “Just something for them to unwind specially during midterms season.”
Students interested in attending other ASI events can visit the ASI website for information and registration.
Feature image by Nadia Urbina