Over 300 students came to the wooden rose novelty event sponsored by the Student Activities Board (SAB) inside of the Rebecca Stafford Student Center (RSSC) on Wednesday, Feb. 12 from 1 – 4 pm.
In preparation for Valentine’s Day, students could take up to three wooden roses that were sprayed with dashes of color. The roses were sprayed with a floral spritz to make the roses seem more realistic and give the essence of smelling like an authentic, freshly bloomed rose.
Some of the members of SAB were going around handing out the wooden roses to faculty, the RSSC kitchen staff, and students at random.
Jeff Singh, a sophomore and current member of SAB, said, “I really enjoyed handing out the roses to people in the Student Center because they weren’t expecting it from me. We handed them out to the workers in the Student Center too and you could tell it made their day because they weren’t expecting to get a wooden rose since it is more of a student involved event. They deserve it on Valentine’s Day just as much as the students sitting at the tables.”
Taylor Carson, Novelties Chairman of SAB, was thrilled with the turnout. The sophomore said, “Usually when I have a novelty event, there is a good turnout because everyone loves free things, but today was exceptionally great. I think that [the novelty event] really got people in the Valentine’s Day mood and it is something different that we have never done before.”
Carson also felt students were involved because it was a more personal and individualized event, where students could choose what colors they wanted their rose to be. The Novelties Chairman added, “It made for a more colorful Valentine’s Day.”
Normally, SAB holds a novelty event about once a month providing free gifts for the students to brighten up their days. The events held are usually revolved around the season or if there is a major holiday during the semester.
In the past, SAB has given out stuffed animals to the student body for Valentine’s Day. Louis Garbarini, SAB Vice President of Marketing and Membership, said he always loved having stuffed animals at SAB’s Valentine’s Day events, but this year he wanted to shake things up and hand out wooden roses. Garbarini said, “Most people that I spoke to said that they had never seen wooden roses like these. I like them because they will last forever and aren’t roses that will die in a couple of days. It’s something different.”
