Whether or not students have valentines, the Student Activities Board is hosting two Valentine’s Day-esque events today that are open to everybody.
From 3-5 p.m., SAB is hosting the Build-a-Bear event in Hubbell North, and at 8 p.m., Shihan the Poet will be performing on Pomerantz Stage.
After a successful turnout last year, Build-a-Bear has similar expectations for this time around.
“I’m expecting it’ll go pretty well, and I’m assuming we’ll sell all of (the bears) within an hour-and-a-half,” said Dan Nottke, who assisted in coordinating the event’s location.
According to Nottke, SAB ordered 125 bears — in two colors — and 75 plain white shirts for the bears which will be available for students to decorate however they’d like. Bears are $5.
Unlike at the Build-a-Bear workshop, the bears will already be pre-stuffed upon arrival.
“Since the bears are pre-stuffed, it’s not truly building your own bear,” said SAB member Carly Noyes, “but it’s the same concept. You can decorate the T-shirt, so that’s unique to your own preference.”
Noyes said that SAB will have hot chocolate and Valentine’s Day cookies available to students.
“We’ve done a pretty good job advertising,” she said. “It’s a favorite on campus. Everyone seems to love it.”
Shihan the Poet, though not a material V-day gift like the bears, brings an unconventional form of love-themed poetry for students. Shihan is a “slam poet.”
According to SAB member Stephanie Merrick, slam poetry is “like rap, but without background music. It’s more like an artistic rap.”
“It’s quick. As opposed to regular poetry like Shakespeare, which is very structured, slam poetry is more like improvisation mixed with poetry,” Keely Huting said.
This is Shihan’s first performance at Drake. SAB representatives discovered him when they attended the National Association for Campus Activities’ regional convention.
“We send representatives every year. There, they get to preview artists,” said Merrick. “They saw him last year and invited him to perform here.”
Shihan does not expect to be the only performer, however. He gladly invites any students willing to share their poetry to also partake in the performance.
Huting and Merrick emailed poetry professors to publicize the poetry event and notify poetry students that they have a chance for some exposure.
“We’re hoping for a good turnout,” said Huting. “Hopefully, some students will be brave enough to come out and read their own stuff.”
