Student-built shacks nestled closely together in Wolf Plaza last week for Shack-A-Thon, creating a lively atmosphere that was hard for students to miss when making their way to class. Over the course of a week, a total of 20 shacks raised money for Habitat for Humanity.

Shack-A-Thon is an annual event where student clubs and organizations build and live in shacks for 24 hours a day. The event was organized by the NC State Habitat for Humanity chapter and lasted from March 24 through 29. 

Some students sold items ranging from baked goods to potted plants, while others offered the chance to pie students in the face or receive advice. The proceeds of the fundraiser go to the Wake County Habitat for Humanity chapter, which is then used to build homes for hard-working families. 

Prior to this year, the event took place in the Brickyard. However, due to the construction of the Integrative Sciences Building, Shack-a-Thon moved to Wolf Plaza. Ben Stevens, a third-year studying business administration and president of NC State’s Habitat for Humanity chapter, said this was the next best location due to its high foot traffic and proximity to main campus. 

Kaitlyn Gainey, a second-year studying construction engineering and a member of the Caldwell Fellows, said the new location had both advantages and disadvantages. 

“I actually don’t mind this,” Gainey said. “I did construction competitions in high school, and pretty much this layout is what your typical construction competitions would look like, with people kind of right on top of each other, really in close quarters.”

Mackenzie Norman, a second-year in mechanical engineering and member of the Society of Women Engineers, said being next to several of the dorms had the benefit of getting freshmen students involved.

In addition to fundraising for Habitat for Humanity, Shack-A-Thon promotes community building. Stevens said he enjoys that students can grow closer with their peers while also being charitable. 

“How I became president, it was just being at the shack kind of 24/7,” Stevens said. “You get to hang out with people in your club; you get to sleep in the shack. I think it just feels like one of those quintessential college memories.” 

Students also find community through the process of building the shacks. Michael Dvoskin, a third-year studying physics and part of the Hillel and Alpha Epsilon Pi dual shack, said this aspect is both challenging and rewarding.

“It turns out, it’s not so easy to put a couple pieces of wood together, even if it’s something simple like a shack,” Dvoskin said. “You have to make fine cuts, know what you’re doing, be able to nail things — and things break, and there are problems along the way that you have to solve.” 

In addition to this year’s change in location, students staying in the shacks ran into several other problems with the weather. 

When storms rolled in Wednesday night, Stevens had to figure out how to keep students safe. He first instructed students to wait at Talley Student Union or D.H. Hill Jr. Library before making the final call.

“We just kind of stayed there for an hour, hoping that the storm would just kind of go away,” Stevens said. “And it did not. So I figured it would be better to have everyone go home for the night and come back at 8 a.m. when the storms are gone because we fundraise during the day.” 

While some students initially enjoyed the rain, as the storms picked up, students were glad to be out of the shacks. Norman said the rain created a nice ambiance — that is, until the thunderstorm hit. Being close to Carroll Hall, Norman and some other students waited in the residence hall to see if they could wait out the storm. 

“One huge, second huge lightning strike shook the building,” Norman said. “And you could feel the doors shaking open. I was like, ‘I’m so glad we’re not in those shacks.’” 

At the end of the week, students came together to take down the shacks, removing nails so that the wood could be reused and given back to Habitat for Humanity. 

Stevens said students were allowed to break down their shacks early this year to have ample time to prepare for the men’s and women’s NC State basketball games on Friday night. 

NC State’s Habitat for Humanity will continue to accept donations through next week.