Craft enthusiasts gathered together to create their own masterpieces when Student Groups and Activities opened the doors for Craft Night.
With more than 100 students attending last semester’s event, Maame Asare, a student worker for Student Groups and Activities, SGA, predicted an even bigger turnout for the craft-a-thon.
Only 20 minutes into the evening on Sept. 21, the room was filled to the brim.
“This is usually one of our biggest events of the semester,” Asare said. “And it looks like this is going to be the biggest craft night yet.”
Students packed the ballroom of the Student Union, wandering from table to table and perusing their arts and crafts options. Dozens of stations were arranged around the room, piled high with beads, glitter, tacky glue and enough supplies to make hundreds of earrings, key chains, door hangers, buttons, sun catchers, masks and even bedazzled flutes.
With so many people floating through the room, some students chose their art projects by slipping into any table that could accommodate them.
“It’s so busy!” said Sarah Ahmad, a junior and first-time crafter attending with two of her friends. “I expected a lot less people. I wanted to make earrings, but this was the only table with room for all three of us.”
For those less attracted to puff paint and string sculptures, simply wandering around the room offered other entertainment. With a full snack bar, a cinema-size movie projected on the wall and a DJ sifting between radio alternative rock and top-40 R&B, the sound of music and excited craft-chat lured in those passing by.
Many crafters showed up due to word-of-mouth.
“I heard about it from my Scholars 101 teaching assistant,” said freshman Jenn Hanrahan. “He told us he came last year and got addicted. Look at all the crafts around here. I hope I don’t get addicted, too!”
Another first timer, junior Kevin Naidu, came with his friends, who had been before, and was happy with his decision to tag along.
“It gets you together with people that you normally wouldn’t hang out with,” Naidu said.
Naidu said he felt that craft night was not only a way to test your artistic skills, but also a way to unite Stony Brook students.
“It’s a way of bringing the student body together, and for creating more pride in Stony Brook,” Naidu said.
Other students agreed that craft night is the perfect place to get to know fellow students, and that the event has steadily improved over the years.
Esther Kwak, a senior, and her friends have attended the get-together for the past four years, and Kwak says that this is the best craft night yet.
“Each year has been an upgrade,” she said while adding a final ring of jewels to her wooden flute.
“Last year I came and carved a flute, but it doesn’t really work,” she said after playing a short tune. “This year we get working instruments.”
The only complaint voiced by students was a lack of space and supplies. With so many artists in one room, popular tables like flutes and earrings filled up quickly. Aside from the materials issue, Hanrahan summed up the general consensus most concisely, piping in with an emphatic, “This place is great!” The next craft night will be held in the spring semester.