Week in, week out, throughout each semester, the Office of Student Engagement aims to please its campus audience with delightful diversion from lab time and homework. Look no further to this past weekend, which ran the gamut from miniature golf to the biggest turkey leg you've ever gnawed upon.
The "Alive! Mental Health Fair," hosted by the Office of Student Engagement on Tuesday, welcomed participants into an open conversation about mental illness and warning signs of suicide. For several hours in the Bush Campus Center, students took part in revealing exercises – separating myth from fact, for instance, and giving anonymous voice to fears and concerns – designed to foster a campus atmosphere of hope and help.
Student teams gave it their all during Wildcat Wars, a grueling and gladiatorial contest of wills and wiles, that was won in a Friday night squeaker.
Students and employees planted flags, wrote thank-you notes to veterans and first responders, made paper cranes and more during a day of service to remember the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Even in this young semester, one can't help but notice the volume and variety of activities arranged by the Office of Student Engagement. In just the past week, for instance, "Wild, Wild Wildcats" could take a Saturday spin on a bucking bovine, take Tuesday afternoon to check out part-time jobs and everyday adventures at Fall Fusion, and "Taste the World" of global interconnectedness on a glorious Wednesday.
Friday's scheduled "Outdoor Movie Night" was moved indoors by threatening weather, but proved – in spite of the relocation – that dinosaurs (and students' attraction to big-screen entertainment) will never be truly extinct.
Students eased into the fall semester with the help of smoochy pooches and summery refreshment, as Counseling Services reprised its traditional "Hot Dog, You're Here!" event on Wednesday evening. About a dozen Penn College employees brought their canine companions to campus to meet students, the latest edition of a program first offered in August 2010.
Whether the first week of classes or the semester's last, the Office of Student Engagement is on hand to fill those non-studying hours with a range of programming from personal empowerment to flat-out entertainment. Last weekend, for instance, brought opportunities for wheels and squeals alike: The Field House was converted for a Friday "Throwback Roller Skating Night" and the Klump Academic Center Auditorium welcomed comedian/contortionist Jonathan Burns on Saturday.
A pair of campus organizations are partnering on a "Speak Out Social" to raise awareness of domestic violence and sexual assault, as well as donations for the YWCA of Northcentral Pennsylvania's Wise Options floor.
Tuesday's Grad Finale, a helpful semester-ending tradition, provided assistance to students participating in one of three commencement ceremonies to be held May 12-13 in the Community Arts Center.
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