Three pigs, a goat, and a bunny waddle onto the third floor of Franklin Hall. 

The sold-out Pet-a-Pig event, hosted by Franklin Advertising, was held to distract students from the stress of upcoming finals Dec. 4.

Realizing that getting students involved in other activities could be a struggle among all the end-of-semester assignments, Franklin Advertising decided to get creative.

“We were trying to figure out something we could do at the end of the semester that would be a fundraiser but also really fun,” Wendy Wardell, Kent State advertising professor and Franklin Advertising faculty adviser, said. “So we said, ‘Why don’t we bring some therapy pigs in?’ And then we thought, ‘Well, it’s not just for therapy, it’s for fun, and pigs are really intelligent and fun.’”

It was also decided that the animals would be provided by Camp Fitch YMCA in North Springfield, PA, after having contacted multiple local petting zoos and farms. 

While the event was originally intended to last from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., inclement weather disrupted their stay. 

“They [Camp Fitch] wanted to get on the road early to make sure the weather wouldn’t get too bad and that they wouldn’t cause the animals too much anxiety on the way,” said Toye Larry, senior advertising major and account planner of Franklin Advertising.

Despite the abrupt ending, Franklin Advertising perceived the event as a success.

“It was unbelievable; we had a waiting line almost the entire time and we didn’t expect the turnout to be as big as it was,” Wardell said. “So yeah, it was really successful — I was shocked, to be honest.”

Visitors included Kent State’s daycare center, as well as many students of a variety of majors from across campus. For a fee of five dollars, five minutes to take photos with the animals in their playpens was granted. Students also were given the option to dress up the animals in the costumes provided.

“The proceeds went partially to Camp Fitch and our club funds,” said senior advertising major and main communicator of Franklin Advertising, Taylor Thrash. “We attend an Adweek convention in New York each year and four to five people can go for free, so some of the money will be going toward that.”

Based off the success of this event, Franklin Advertising is already hopeful for the next event.

“We are already planning it for the next time because it was so fun and different and I think we’d like the camp to see what else they’d want to do and spend a little more time setting it up,” Wardell said.

Contact Lauryn Oglesby at [email protected].