GCAB’s 2025 Hard Launch
Photo courtesy of Managing Editor, Regan Russell
Students crowded outside the Student Union, enjoying the stuff-a-plush event.
One of SUNY Geneseo’s most popular on-campus planning organizations, the Geneseo Campus Activities Board, has put on many important events, including the famous annual Spring Fest. GCAB made their Fall 2025 debut with the event appropriately titled, “2025 Hard Launch,” which took place on Sept. 5th.
The event featured a fan-favorite activity called Stuff-a-Plush, which brought quite the crowd, with people lining up 20 minutes before the event even began to grab their favorite animal. Koalas, dogs, lions, cats, unicorns, and dozens of other animals were available for students to grab and fill with stuffing. Just like the iconic Build-a-Bear experience, students could put a plush heart inside of their new friend and dress them in a fresh white t-shirt. These animals went fast, with all of the options cleared out just 30 minutes into the event. So be sure to arrive at any future events extra early!
There was still plenty to do with the plushes gone, with a mechanical bull and photo booth available to students for the event’s full two hours. The photo booth printed out hard copies of the photos taken, and everyone could get a copy. We got 15 copies of the same photo! These make the perfect decoration for dorms and apartments, a great way to showcase college memories with friends.
The mechanical bull also drew many people in, some even staying the entire time of the event just to watch the amusing efforts made by students. While many riders only lasted 10 or 15 seconds, some managed to hold on like a champ and lasted almost a whole minute! There were even a few students who took advantage of the lack of wait time near the end of the event and kept trying to beat their previous score, holding on longer each time and learning new tips and tricks on how to stay on even longer. The employee helping to run the bull even took a few turns themself after many requests from the audience. Competition took over for a bit as students wanted to beat not only their score, but they wanted to beat other students who were improving their score, as well. I believe the times were too close to call a true winner, but everyone was a winner at the end of the day.
While all of this commotion was happening, there was a DJ booth playing classic fan favorites to dance to, such as “Cotton-Eyed Joe” and “Gangnam Style.” They were also taking requests from students to play more up-to-date popular songs to keep the good vibes going. If you attended this event and have feedback for GCAB, please feel free to use this link to review the event!
Additionally, any feedback can be sent to their instagram at @geneseocab. GCAB currently operates as a board of students who each work hard to provide their fellow students with activities, food, live music, and even merchandise. The board is currently full, but they are looking for general members to help out with certain future events and ideas. While GCAB is famous for Spring Fest, they host a wide variety of events throughout the entire year. Be on the lookout for their schedule as the Halloween season approaches, as there will be some fun surprises on the way. Also, be sure to check out Fall Fest. You will not want to miss out on these once a year events.