Students hop at the chance to celebrate Leap Year

As 2024's Leap Day drew to a close, students crowded the first floor of Campus Club in celebration of this once-in-an-undergraduate-experience opportunity. Surrounded by hundreds of stuffable frog plushies, paintable frog statues, and a three-tier, frog-themed cake, Campus Club was awash in green decorations, courtesy of the Princeton Student Events Committee (PSEC).

Leap days are a once every four-year phenomenon, a quirk of the Gregorian calendar that ensures we get an extra day, Feb. 29, to account for slight variations in the number of days in a year. Most Princeton students will only experience one throughout their time as an undergraduate, though students who take gap years could experience more. 2024 is Princeton’s 68th leap year.

The leap year event was organized by PSEC members as a “frog-themed birthday party,” according to Justin Anderson ’26, PSEC’s program chair. Another PSEC member, Sarah Gemmell ’24, highlighted the importance of the event, telling the The Daily Princetonian that Leap Day is “an amazing, exceptional day that needs to be honored.”

Gemmell is a former staff Puzzles constructor.

PSEC planned for at least 300 students to make their own frog stuffed animal, which ran out about 30 minutes into the event. The event, which was held from 8–10 p.m., received glowing reviews from students.

“What brought me here is frogs,” Ruth Rocker ’26 told the ‘Prince.’ This sentiment was shared by multiple students, with Michelle Thurber ’26 saying that she saw other students walking out of Campus Club with “cute looking stuffed frogs,” drawing her to attend the event.

Another element that brought students to the event was the opportunity to celebrate a unique part of their Princeton experience. Dylan Bissonette ’26, who had placed his stuffed frog on top of his head, told the ‘Prince,’ “I think it’s really cool that they’re holding an event just for this day.”

Nadja Markov ’26 reflected on how the event improved her perception of PSEC.

“There’s a lot more stuffed animals than in previous events, so that’s pretty cool,” she said. She had also placed a stuffed frog on her head.

Mia Krieg ’26 said she found the event “so in-depth and very fun.”

Anderson said he was proud of the work PSEC did to bring the event together. “I think especially after COVID, people are very excited to join events and build a sense of community here on campus.”

Vitus Larrieu is a News contributor and head Podcast editor for the ‘Prince.’