Drew students unleashed their inner artist at Drew Night Life’s Craft the Night Away event on Friday, Feb. 24. An array of craft options was provided to students, including mosaics, wire-wrapping gems, plushies and friendship bracelets.
Describing the idea behind Craft the Night Away, event organizer Eli Hatcher (‘23) said, “I know that Drew is a very creative community. We celebrate the arts a lot, and I know that a lot of people on campus enjoy this kind of stuff…I thought that creating a space where people can hang out with their friends, do some crafts, come in and out and enjoy themselves would be great.” Hatcher also selected crafts for the event that had not previously been offered at Drew Night Life events.

Attendees obtained colorful supplies like beads, tiles and felt from tables distributed around Crawford Hall. A list of instructions describing how to create each craft was provided at each table. Students designed their crafts alongside their friends while eating pizza provided by Drew Night Life.
While fashioning their wire-wrapping gems, Amy Campos (‘26) and Jax Dal Bon (‘26) shared their opinions of the event.
“I’m a big crafts person, so I was looking forward to this event,” said Campos. “I think it’s a lot of fun because you get to take something home that you can wear. That’s not something you get [to do] very often.”
“I’m into crafting. I think this is a really good way to de-stress. When you’re a college student, you don’t have access to all these supplies, so I think this was a really good idea,” Dal Bon said.
Starting at 8:45 p.m., Sydney Paluch, Drew’s Coordinator of Residential Education, led a sewing demonstration to help students create plushies. Paluch, whose mother taught her how to sew, explained each step while a video of her hand motions was displayed behind her. Students followed along with their needles and thread, designing adorable plushies with shapes such as pizzas and avocados.
Craft the Night Away was an entertaining event for all Drew students, whether they were experienced artists or simply looking to relax after a long week. Regardless of their artistic skill, attendees were able to tap into their creativity and design original and memorable crafts.
Make sure to follow Student Activities on their Instagram @drewstuact for updates on future Drew Night Life events, including Open Mic Night on March 17.
Abigail Goldman is a first-year student majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology.
Featured image courtesy of Abigail Goldman.