April Craze | Photo by Christian Peters | The Wright State Guardian
The morning of April 22 dawned on the biggest campus celebration of the year. The first April Craze since 2019 returned with 90 tables, 20 vendors and a projected attendance of 3,000 students.
The event
The North Lawn, the Mall and the Quad had tables from student organizations, university departments and outside corporations. Each table had a planned activity, some featuring a tie-in to this year’s Hippie theme
The tabling organizations gave away free swag, snacks and raffle entries to April Craze attendees. Food trucks and local small business vendors lined the walkways, including Chick-Fil-A, Wings on Wheels, Diamond Daiquiris, La Granja Mexican food and Beavercreek Florist Shoppe. UAB hosted the bounce houses and zipline to bring in adventure-loving attendees.
Free items
Wright State radio station, WWSU 106.9, gave out shirts and lanyards while DJing the event, Miracle Makers gave out free snacks for a social media follow, Counseling and Wellness Services hosted a manifestation art project and gave out fidget toys and several other tables gave out free items. Multicultural groups were tabling such as the associate chapter of Kappa Phi Lambda, Amigos Latinas and African American Residential Caucus.
Senior Sydni Scott remembered the first April Craze they attended back in 2019.
“I was a freshman back in 2019 for my first April Craze,” they said. “This time it feels a lot bigger and I was excited to come out here with my friends for something fun to do.”
UAB promoted interaction by including a punchcard program for various tables for attendees to visit. Students could return the complete punchcard to UAB for an April Craze t-shirt.
Student organizations
Many student organizations rely on April Craze to open the door to potential students who would like to get involved.
“I am excited to be here to get the word out and increase awareness,” Emily Yantis-Houser, Intercultural Specialist at the LGBTQA Center, said.
UAB Director of Specialty Events Isabelle Rice declared that April Craze 2022 was a success.
“I am impressed with the turnout,” Rice said. “I am proud of the community coming together to make this happen.”
The next event Rice is coordinating is Fall Fest this upcoming fall semester, which will be announced on April 26.
