UA’s beloved mascot Zippy helped spread holiday cheer around campus with the event “Pictures with Santa Zippy” on Dec. 8 during the afternoon in the Student Union.

The event was hosted by the university’s communications and marketing department. Students and passers-by were encouraged to take photos with a festively dressed Zippy in a Santa costume and a team of student helpers against a holiday photo backdrop.

Holiday spirit was in full effect at the event as students also had an opportunity to win prizes by selecting special candy canes out of a Christmas stocking, with prizes ranging from gift cards to UA gear. All gifts were donated by ZPN, the Akron Alumni Association, the athletics department, the Student Union bookstore, and the communications and marketing department.

The event created a fun and relaxing atmosphere in the Union with many students and faculty members getting a kick out of dancing to classic holiday tunes and taking pictures with Zippy.

“Beautiful, I’m so thankful to get a picture with Zippy!” said student Tyese Kiper. “A lot of us [students] are far away from home, so it’s nice to experience some holiday tradition here at school!”

Students weren’t the only ones embracing the holiday spirit; several groups and faculty members also stopped by to take a photo with Santa Zippy, including faculty from the Honors College, the engineering Co-op and Placement Office, several graduate assistants from Student Life, and an abundance of students from the dance school, who capped off the event with several jolly minutes of dancing with Zippy and the crew.

“As dance majors, we’re usually confined into our own little box. We usually don’t get to come out and just have fun like this, so it was pretty cool,” dance-major Aaron Knowles said.

With final exams fast approaching, Pictures with Santa Zippy gave students and faculty a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel, and, if only for a minute, relief from the demanding life of a college student nearing the end of the semester.

Students can look forward to a montage of pictures from the Pictures with Santa Zippy event on the official UA Facebook page and  Zippy’s Instagram page, @ZippyTheRoo.