Mahalo, Aloha!

While there were no ukuleles playing or hulu skirts to be had, the spirit of Hawaii permeated the Edinboro campus like the stench of a pig roast.

Aloha, the annual kickoff event for the art department was held Sept. 9 on the lawn between Doucette and Loveland Hall.

Although the event is primarily organized to help freshman learn more about the student-run art organizations on campus, students of all ages and disciplines came out to enjoy the festivities.

Steven Spencer, an upperclassman studying broadcast journalism said his friends encouraged him to come to the event.

"My friends told me, 'You got to come to Aloha! There's free food and music!'" Spencer explained over the loud roar of the jam band behind the Printmaking Club's table.

Doug Eberhart, a member of Printmaking Club, also agreed that free food is one of the main draws of Aloha, but maintained that the event is also about spreading the word of the many student driven organizations.

"I'm here to support Printmaking Club," said Eberhart. "We want a lot of people to join it, hear about it, and get into it."

Nick Gordy, another member of the club, agreed. "It's fun. And we made a really cool cake," he said, gesturing over to a half-eaten cake that had a screen-printed design on it.

In the middle of an intense hula hooping session under the trees, a voice over the microphone announced that Art Education Club was about to start their water-balloon tossing contest and the winning teams would receive the only the best semi-fabulous prizes.

"Just semi-fabulous?" lamented an art major with a mouthful of cake.

Over at the Student Art League (SAL) table, members were handing out cookies and thinking back on Aloha's past.

"It's been going on since I've been here," said Ashley Cloud, president of SAL. "We're all about getting people from different majors involved with our organization," Cloud explained as some music students approached the table.

Lacy Barber and Laura Zamora are familiar with working with a wide variety of talented people. Both are the co-managing editors of Chimera, which is an art publication that uses talents from both the art and English departments.

"We are completely student-run," Zamora shouted over the loud jam band. "Chimera is designed by students and features student artwork and literature."

At another table, Tammy Roche, the director of marketing and development at the Erie Art Museum, mentioned Chimera when talking about all the unique opportunities the museum has for members of the Edinboro University community. "Chimera gets exhibited at the Erie Art Museum and we have a regional juried show that will be featuring selections from the Edinboro University permanent collection coming up soon in our main gallery," she said.

Other non-art-related organizations like Identity were there to introduce themselves to students and to hand out free ramen noodles.

"What else do hungry college students need?" joked member Michael Carey.

Although some students were busy in class during the afternoon, some of the lucky ones were able to break free and enjoy Aloha.

"I'm actually in graphic design class right now, but my professor really wanted us to come out and see the sights," said Heather Johnston, a junior studying film production.

"I've always enjoyed coming to Aloha," Johnston said while receiving a free, screen-printed tattoo on her arm. "It's a time to unwind, relax and have fun before putting your nose to the grindstone."