Nearly 220 students ascended the stairs at the Retail, Auxiliary, and Dining (RAD) Center to be part of the mix of the 91ƽ Dining Services’ First Year Eats fall get-together. Students mingled while enjoying an evening of deejayed music, finger foods, wandering waiters, mocktails (cucumber mint mojito, berry spritzer, and lavender lemonade), and raffles.
Freshmen Lia Lewis, art & American Sign Language major, Ailin Thomas, business major, and Hailey Houston, biology major, all agreed that the event was well advertised, and they were happy they attended.
“I saw the signs for it every other second,” said Lewis. “So, I told them, you should go to this.”
“There’s more people than I expected,” said Thomas. “The advertising was good because you saw it everywhere.”
“I have to agree, I did se
e the signs all over outside of my dorm and walking to all my classes,” said Houston. “The food's really good and so are all the people who've talked to me so far.”
While Dining Services hosts a First Year Eats Mixer event each semester, the fall version is a larger event, hence why the department opted to hosted at the RAD Center.
“Fall is the start of a new academic year, you feel the excitement, the anticipation,” said Alexcis Mendoza, district marketing manager, Dining Services. “We chose the RAD Multipurpose Room because it’s such a cool place — new and unexplored. It’s our way of saying, ‘Hey, get out there!’”
This mirrored the First Year Eats’ goal of freshmen and first-year transfer students making new friends, building support systems, networking at the beginning of the semester, and having fun.
“It’s very interactive,” said Grace Chalco, freshman, a journalism major. “I actually met five new people here 10 minutes ago. I love that they have free food for everyone, and they have activities and the raffle, which I did win something! I think food really connects people differently at cultural levels.”
Members of the Dining Services team met with the students and highlighted the dining programs, their variety of food options, and the value of the meal plans. Students learned about the department’s website and social media platforms that touch on what the department does, the available on-campus eateries, and upcoming events and promotions.
When entering the event, students received a free “Certified Foodie” T-shirt to publicize the Foodie Facebook site.
“We want students to feel more comfortable and grounded in our dining spaces, which leads to less stress and better study habits," said Mendoza.
The open design of the RAD allowed people on the bottom floor to hear the First Year Eats music and see people going upstairs.
“If you’re dining at one of the spaces or casually studying, you may say, ‘What’s going on over there?’ The energy is there for people to enjoy,” said Mendoza.
Learn more about Dining Services’ First Year Eats club.
