Let’s be honest, the average college student is quite lacking in the money department, and college supplies are quite expensive, never mind dorm decorations. Extra money can be spent on apparel from the bookstore (to bump up that school spirit during football season), or Costco-size packages of food. So, room designing is probably the last thing to think about.

This past Tuesday, Sept. 4, SCOPE (the Student Committee of Programing Events) held a free event in Bartels Programming Space where students could make their own laser-inscribed pens, wire sculptures or customized street signs.

There were a variety of sign combinations to choose from: a long horizontal type came in blue, green, red and orange, with the words “Blvd.,” “Ave.,” “Way” and “Lane” written in the top right hand corner. Other words could then be added, to make a sign such as “Swag Ave.” (yes, out of all things, there was a Swag Ave. sign).

Other signs said “Parking for _______ only, all others will be towed away,” to which some students inserted their nationality, such as French or Peruvian. Still, other signs said “‘_______’s Room,” or the classic “Caution! No _______ allowed!” to which the word “parents” was a common insert.

In the wire sculpting section, the artist would bend different sized pieces of wire to spell out names and create image-like flowers, the peace sign, or even laptops (some people are just that attached to their technology), into one modern-looking piece of art.

The pen-engraving stand was both functional (who doesn’t want a free pen?) and artistic, as anything you wanted could be etched onto the pen—up to 24 characters, that is. A great plethora of fonts was available: a grand total of five (sarcasm intended). Well, probably just four because Times New Roman is just too typical.

If you are going to write something on a pen, you might as well do it in Comic Sans. After all, where else would that highly disliked type be acceptable?

If you missed this, make sure you check out Charger Connection for other events with freebies!