Asem Abdelfattah
Staff Writer
Nijhoom Roy
Staff Writer
With Valentine’s Day approaching on Tuesday, Feb. 14, several student organizations are hosting themed events, highlighting the spirit of the holiday with love, hearts and beauty.
The Student Government Association and Freshman Forum are organizing a fundraiser called Trojan Grams where students can purchase candy for a loved one or a friend and have the SGA deliver it to them.
Morgan Long, a freshman undecided major from Birmingham and one of the organizers of the fundraiser, said that Trojan Grams are a great way to remind a classmate, friend or a significant other that you love them.
“Trojan Grams are a way to spread the Trojan love to fellow classmates,” Long said.
For $2, students can choose to send Hershey’s Bars, Sour Patch Kids, Skittles or Snickers with a personalized note.
“Once bought, SGA handles contacting and getting your Trojan Gram to the person you sent it to,” Long said.
Long encourages people to participate in this event because proceeds benefit Backpack for Kids, an organization supporting Troy Headstart.
The grams will be sold in the Trojan Center until Friday, Feb. 10, at 2 p.m.
The University Activities Council is hosting a free raffle in the Trojan Center on Monday, Feb. 13, from noon to 4:30 p.m. and on Tuesday, Feb. 14, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. according to UAC president Amy Russo, a junior broadcast journalism major from Pace, Florida.
The raffle is geared toward couples who will guess how much candy is in a jar.
“There are no fees,” Russo said. “There will be a jar full of candy, the average of each of the couple’s guesses will be their guess; the couple with the closest guess wins.
“The prize is a surprise. However, expect some cool, romantic type Valentine’s Day things.”
The Sociology Club is hosting a matchmaker event that the organizers say is better than the popular dating site Tinder.
Indiana Poret, a junior social science pre-law major from Nice, France, said that students fill out a questionnaire that is used to match applicants using “smart software.”
For a fee of $3, students who applied can receive their matches Monday, Feb. 13, and Tuesday, Feb. 14, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Trojan Center.
Chi Omega and Alpha Gamma Delta have partnered to host a Valentine’s Day event. Riley Jacks, a junior human services major from Oxford and a Chi Omega sister, said that the event would help students get some puppy love.
“This event is being organized by both Alpha Gamma Delta and Chi Omega,” Jacks said. “TARP will be supplying the puppies.”
“It is a two-day event that will be held on Monday, Feb. 13, and Tuesday, Feb. 14, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the social quad in front of TC.
“This event will be a fun, light-hearted event where students can pay $2 to play with some lovable pups!”
Taylor McKnight, a sophomore exercise science major from Samson and Alpha Gamma Delta philanthropy chair, said that all proceeds will be going to deserving philanthropies.
“All proceeds will go towards Troy Animal Rescue Project, diabetes research and awareness and Make a Wish Foundation, which are very deserving philanthropies,” McKnight said. “Both sororities had this idea and decided to come together to make it a bigger event and offer it for two days to give more people the opportunity to come and for the animals to get more attention, and hopefully adopted.
“It is our hope to show insight on the great Panhellenic relationship we have on this campus while offering a fun-filled day for students and a little time to relax and play with animals.”
McKnight also said there will be a photo booth equipped with a Polaroid for instant pictures.
“Love Struck,” a hippie-themed party, will be hosted on Friday, Feb. 10, at the Double Branch Bar and is sponsored by the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
This event serves as its spring philanthropy event and aims to raise money to support its national philanthropy, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
According to Jonathan Hickman, a junior psychology major from Mobile and philanthropy chair of TKE, Reid Gambino, a junior English major from Fairhope and local rapper who goes by the stage name “Young Tax”, will open up the event followed by the up-and-coming Virginia-based rapper Ryan Oakes, who is flying down to perform for this event.
Gambino will be performing a 30-45 minute set of his original music followed by Oakes, who will be debuting his never-before released songs at this event.
Logan Blake, a senior graphic design major from Dothan and the president of TKE, also shared some details about the upcoming events.
“Love Struck 2017 is our first attempt towards a larger scale philanthropy event in the spring, as we usually focus on doing something big in the fall with our annual Trick-or-TKE event,” Blake said.
According to Blake, the success of this past Trick-or-TKE is what prompted them to organize another event.
“At Trick-or-TKE, we raised $2,000 and had 500-600 attendees, so we are hoping the numbers continue to climb and the money we raise for St. Jude increases,” said Blake.
“We have 1,500 people invited to our Facebook event and are hoping for a great turn out.”
Tickets are $5 and can be purchased from any brother or at the TKE table at the Trojan Center until the day of the event at 5 p.m. All proceeds are going to be donated to St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital.
Two on-campus organizations, the Spectrum Alliance (SA) and Students for Liberty (SFL), have partnered to host “The Valentine Dance,” on Tuesday, Feb. 14, in the Arboretum to celebrate the holiday.
Proceeds will be split between the SA and SFL.
Jeremiah Baky, a senior political science major from Dauphin Island and president of SFL, said the informal dance provides students with an opportunity to celebrate the day and have fun.
“We reserved the Arboretum and ordered decorations from Amazon as the initiation process,” Baky said. “We have planned to decorate the venue on the morning of the event.”
SFL’s portion of the raised funds will be used to help fund their organization’s trip to Washington, D.C., for the International Students For Liberty Conference, which is Friday, Feb. 17, through Sunday, Feb. 19.
According to Julian Carroll, a junior political science major from Dayton, Ohio, and public relations officer of the SA, the Spectrum’s portion of the proceeds will go towards other events hosted by the organization as well as donations for LGBT groups and projects.
Carroll said that he also sees this event as a good opportunity to recruit new members.
“There will be a photo booth with props, a DJ, dancing, music and attendees can request their favorite song, too,” said Carroll. “Also, there will be a raffle for Valentine’s candy and roses, cutest couple competition and a surprise game, which will be announced at the event.”
“We just want everybody to bring in their partner and have a good time together with their loved ones,” Carroll said.
Tickets will be sold outside the Trojan Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. all week leading up to the dance and at the door. They are $3 each or $5 for two if purchased in advance, and $4 each or $7 for two if purchased at the door.
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