Since New Student Orientation in September, visitors to the Odegaard Undergraduate Library have been invited to fold a paper crane.
鈥淭he idea was to not only welcome students but also to offer them respite from the sensory overload of back-to-school frenzy,鈥� said Victoria Beatty, special projects librarian. 鈥淔olding origami can be a very centering, meditative practice because of the focus it takes to make the series of precise folds necessary.鈥�
Cranes are symbols of wisdom, long life, and good fortune, Beatty noted, and it is said that a wish is granted to the person who folds one thousand cranes. She said the library wanted to wish students a happy and successful year.
The library provided the paper and directions for making the crane, never anticipating that the idea would take off like, well, like a real crane.
鈥淲e have many more than 1,000 at this point,鈥� said Beatty. 鈥淪tudents came in and made them, and showed their friends how to make them. They鈥檝e gone through at least five reams of paper so far.鈥�
Along the way they鈥檝e had the chance to win a gift certificate from the University Book Store by putting their name on the cranes they make. One is chosen each week in a drawing.
When the idea of Take Back Your Time Day came up (), the paper crane making seemed to fit right in, so the project 鈥� which was slated to end 鈥� was extended through Oct. 24. And when it does end, the cranes, which are currently hanging in the Odegaard lobby and piling up in bins, will be put in storage. But they’ll be strung into garlands to reappear next fall, Beatty says. They may even make an appearance at “some suitably festive occasion” before then.