The University Programming Board hosted Kite Fest on Sept. 14 as a farewell to the summer season. Students gathered on St. Andre Lawn, where they designed their own kites and dreamcatchers, as well as enjoyed delicious churros and ice cream. This event served as the perfect close to the season of summer at St. Edward’s University and allowed students to safely enjoy the return of student life to campus.

Students were encouraged to sign up online to attend the event and were directed to pick a slot in which they would be able to stop by. Attendance was capped at 40 attendees, per St. Edward’s COVID-19 policies. Attendees were able to design and fly their kites on the scenic St. Andre Lawn, as nature provided the perfect backdrop. 

Planning for the event started about a little less than a month ago, according to senior and University Programming Event Coordinator Sofia Valente. Valente joined the University Programming Board in the fall of 2019, before the start of the pandemic. According to Valente, student events are predetermined the prior semester by UPB and are carried out the following semester.

One of the important things for Valente as in-person events return to St. Edward’s, is that the events are fun and enjoyable to the attendees, after having endured more than a year of online classes.  

“I wanted to make student life activities fun again, before and after the pandemic,” Valente said.  Planning an event during an ongoing pandemic comes with its own set of challenges. According to Valente, one of the challenges the event coordinators ran into was catering their event. “With catering in the pandemic, we had to go pick up some things for the event and a lot of vendors don’t deliver anymore,”

Despite the challenges, the event proved to be a success for students, such as senior Ester Martin.

“I enjoy seeing everybody come back together, it’s a lot of fun,” Martin said. “I think the event went well. I enjoyed sitting down on the grass, being out in nature and being with my friends.”

According to Martin, however, the pandemic has definitely affected events at St. Edward’s.“It’s also a little sad because, while I love seeing people coming together now, [attendance] isn’t  as big as it used to be.”

This is a common theme for a lot of on-campus events. While student life has returned to campus, it definitely does not look the same as it used to. Less people, more masks and lots of space in between seems to be the norm now. Events have adapted just as we have in order to survive the pandemic. Although the pandemic still continues, it’s events like the Kite Fest that offer a bit of normalcy back to the Hilltop.