By Stephanie Huynh | Contributor | smh2026@jagmail.southalabama.edu
Photo credit: FYC
The First Year Council (FYC) hosted their annual Deck the Halls holiday event on Dec. 1 in the Student Center Ballroom. From 6 to 9 p.m., students were able to mingle with friends and get in the Christmas spirit before the start of finals could dampen it.
The activities during the event included ornament-making, coloring sheets and a gingerbread house competition. Dr. Seuss’ “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” played in the background, and a photobooth was created to take photos with Santa.
Lauren Hamby, the chair of the student engagement committee for the FYC, shared her experiences with organizing the event. “It was fun. It was a little hectic getting everything together, but we just had to make sure we had enough stuff for everybody,” she said.
Due to the pandemic, this festive tradition was put on hold for two years. This year, the FYC was tasked with bringing back this flurry of Christmas spirit during a time when the student body needed it most.
“This is our first year getting back out here doing it again,” Hamby remarked. “My committee as a whole came up with everything. We had a transition booklet from the previous years who had done this event already so we knew what people liked and didn’t like. This event showed me how amazing FYC is to be a part of. I mean, all these people come together and they’re happy to be here.”
In case you were wondering, the first place winners of the gingerbread house contest were the “Snow Women,” Cassie and Rachel. In second place was “Santa’s Elfs” and in third was “Home Wreckers.”
The FYC is the first-year branch of the Student Government Association at South Alabama. After participating in an application process, anywhere from 25 to 30 students are chosen to improve the lives of freshmen and transfer students throughout campus. The South Alabama website describes the FYC as being “a great building block for future South leaders.”
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