Campus Programming and Relations brought students together at their stress-relieving Build-a-Buddy event on Thursday, Feb. 2 in the Markee Pioneer Student Center.

This event is a crowd favorite, returning each spring semester. Students select from a handful of plush animals to stuff by hand while gathering with friends.

Tickets for the event were $5 per plush animal and students were welcome to purchase several. The list of possible plush animals to stuff included cows, llamas, cats and more. This semester’s lineup had a few repeats from the previous run, but there were also several new selections.

“Every semester we run the event, we try to get at least one new animal for people to choose from,” Harlee Eastman, who is a student employee at CPR, said.

Though this year’s turnout was lower than previous semesters, CPR is hopeful for the next Build-a Buddy. “We have small goals that we like to reach for attendance and numbers, though we would always love to sell out,” Eastman added.

When it came to planning and marketing the event, students employed by CPR are gaining first-hand experience in this type of work. A student employee of CPR, Jarid Stott said, “I liked seeing all the people who were there actually happy to be getting these stuffed animals. It was also awesome to see the people who were like, ‘Oh, I’m going to get one buddy’, but then thought the animals were pretty cute and said, ‘I might get two or three.’”

CPR is happy to continue bringing this event back each year as the response from attendees is always a joy. The typical cost for these types of events is around $19 per animal plush, but CPR wants to keep the event accessible to every student, so they drop the price for students to $5.

“Just to see people come together and have fun, where it’s not necessarily strictly school you come here for, but for other stuff as well; on-campus, but off-class experiences. That’s the point of CPR,” Stott explained. “It’s always fun. All the people there seemed to really enjoy it, and I don’t think I saw anyone there who didn’t have a smile on their face, which is really the goal.”