A familiar yak wandered around campus last weekend, greeting students with its promises of anonymity and ups.
But this wasn’t just any yak — it was the Yik Yak.
USC students could “ride the Yak” this weekend when the social media platform's crew made its way to Columbia.
The Yik Yak crew showed up on campus to give students the chance to engage with the famed anonymous application for “yak”-ing their opinions and quips.
The crew brought the Yakarma Kart, the Yik Yak tent and their very own mascot, The Yak.
The arrival on campus was a part of the company’s 2015 "Ride the Yak" campus tour, during which they'll visit 59 colleges across 34 states in 71 days.
Saturday night, the crew was near the Horseshoe Bar in Five Points and drew a few students, including Lauren Huffmire, a first-year biology student, and Paula Ruiz, a first-year early childhood education student.
“We saw a yak (post) that said the Kart would be there so we walked, and they were parked by the entrance handing out free pizza and Gatorade,” Huffmire said.
Huffmire and her friends got some free food and tank tops from the workers, who also handed out free koozies and stickers in exchange — the higher the "yakarma," the better the prize.
“The cool part was that there was someone dressed up as The Yak who was taking pictures with people,” Ruiz said.
It wasn’t just the promise of free swag that got students interacting with the Yik Yak team — the crew set up a table on Greene Street and offered to donate $1 to charity for every positive yak someone showed them.