“Sometimes you have to see things through the eyes of people that are students,” said James Creedon, the senior vice president for construction, facilities and operations.

Creedon got the idea after his son texted him a photo of a pool and hot tub retailer that had a giant Adirondack chair in a display. Since Creedon’s son, who isn’t a Temple student, knew Adirondack chairs were laid out throughout Main Campus he suggested that Creedon should commission the chairs and include a hashtag to make them more interactive.

“I sent the picture down to our facilities management [team, which] runs our carpentry shop, and the guys down there loved it,” Creedon said. “Next thing I know we’re up and rolling.”

The large chairs were installed on Saturday, March 16, before classes resumed and that same day people began using the hashtag. Employees of the admissions office took the first picture that appeared under #TUbigchairs.

“We were at [the men’s basketball game] on Friday night, and [my son] told me, ‘Oh, it started!’ and he showed me stuff that was coming in over Twitter,” Creedon said.

The hashtag has also yielded results on Instagram, and there is even one video posted to Vine including the hashtag.

“Temple’s student body [and faculty] has shown time and time again that it’s very engaged in social media and very vibrant,” said Hillel Hoffmann, director of university communications.

Hoffmann said the first tweet with the hashtag was from the Temple Twitter account, @TempleUniv, on March 13, which teased to the return of the chairs.

One criticism the chairs have incited on Twitter is that the university could have spent money on more productive things. One tweet from @Its_DevinBurke said, “#TUbigchairs screams poor money management.”

Creedon said the total cost of both chairs was $400. The chairs were designed to seat four people, but more than that can be supported by the structures. The chairs are seven feet high and weigh between 250 to 300 pounds, Creedon said.