With the 2018-19 school year coming to a close, UK’s Student Activities Board had the right idea to host an event to ease the minds of students with end-of-semester stress.

On April 8, SAB held a “shirt shack” event from 3 to 5 p.m. just outside the Gatton Student Center in Barker Plaza. Students were given the opportunity to bring their own t-shirt, or use one that was provided, and customize that shirt with tie-dye or screen printing.

“My favorite part of the event was having the freedom to choose the color and design for my t-shirt,” said Megha Ambalia, a freshman biology major.

Many students attended this event and many shirts were made, especially seeing as some students enjoyed themselves so much that they decided to make more than one t-shirt.

“I have exams coming up and this was a good stress reliever,” Ambalia said.

Not only did this event succeed at putting students’ stress at ease, but it was a good way for the students of UK to socialize with one another.

“I really enjoy coming to events like these with my friends to just hang out, have fun and meet new people,” said Pallavi Raichur, a freshman majoring in business management.

When asked if they would attend again, Ambalia and Raichur did not hesitate to say yes.

Not only did SAB provide students with fun t-shirt crafts, but students were also provided with free ice-cream from Crank & Boom.

“I got to take a break from doing my homework, and they gave us free ice-cream. So yeah, it was fun,” said Jessica Lin, a freshman majoring in integrated strategic communications. She also said that she wouldn’t mind attending this event again.

This “shirt shack” event was a new concept and the first time that this generation of SAB members have hosted it. The idea came about when some members stumbled across some old things in a box that advertised “tie-dye Tuesday.” After their discovery, SAB members were very excited about the idea of hosting a fun t-shirt crafting event for UK students.

“It was our first time using the vinyl press, so that was an interesting experience,” said Alethia Placencia, the co-director of campus life for SAB. “This was my fifth event of the semester and I think it turned out great. It was fun, a lot of people came, it’s nice outside and I’m just really looking forward to the end of the semester.”