On Nov. 5, Beloit’s Sexuality and Gender Alliance (SAGA) hosted a “paint your pet night” at SAGA house, where only the coolest people came to do just that: paint their pets.
While it only lasted an hour, the night was filled with fun conversations and recollections of participant’s late pets. It was meant to be a lighthearted event, but ended up being a way to commemorate beloved pets that were lost within the last couple of years.
Some of the highlights of this event included a dog named Aida being painted (scarily well) as an alien and SAGA President Corina Pope’26 giving up on painting a pet and instead creating an abstract piece entitled “Pibble.” This, of course, was followed by numerous Pibble jokes such as, “Wash my belly,” and,”clean my belly.” (It is debated whether the name was Pibble or Bibble due to being distracted by all the Reese’s slander. The painting did contain the colors of the character Bibble from the 2005 movie, “Barbie: Fairytopia”).
One SAGA member provided very cute spill-resistant frog-shaped water dishes for washing paintbrushes, which increased the experience’s enjoyability tenfold. The atmosphere was full of fun and whimsy, cracking jokes and talking about shared interests. You can tell these are the kind of people you would want in your blunt rotation.
The scheduling of this event caused confusion for some students, with the set event time being changed from 6:30-9 p.m. to 6-7 p.m., while the email sent out to all those on SAGA’s mailing list stated the start time to be 7 p.m. We know of at least one student who was unable to attend because of this error.
This event also happened to take place on the five year anniversary of the angel Castiel’s confession of love to Dean Winchester in hit CW show “Supernatural.” Coincidence? Probably.
Despite the issues with arranging the meeting time, the event otherwise went as planned. With a small group of around five people, the night went on with fun conversations and simple artistry. From dogging on Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups to displaying great enthusiasm for The Round Table, the event provided a great alternative to sitting around and watching Matt the Knife’s performance later that same evening.
This was just one of SAGA’s more low-key events. From movies to study nights, the organization serves a great purpose for students who want to participate in clubs but are too scared of going to larger meetings, especially in a cultural climate where connecting LGBTQ+ students with other peers and on-campus resources becomes increasingly important.
Aside from the initial scheduling issue, the event was an overall very enjoyable experience. The SAGA house members created a very fun and welcoming environment for their visitors, ensuring repeat visits to future events hosted by the group.
Featured Image: Alivia Rentera’29
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