First-Year Experience, the Mays Center and E-Sports joined together for “FYE Fall Fest: Jags Don’t Just Roar, They Reach Out” Nov. 12 in the Ceremony Room of Patriots’ Casa.
The event was designed to encourage community involvement while offering crafts, entertainment and information about campus support resources.
First-year students were welcomed to relax and enjoy crafts, movies and video games.
In addition to the activities, organizers highlighted the importance of giving back. They encouraged attendees to donate canned goods or contribute $1 to support the campus General’s Store, a food pantry for students.
“We’re trying to build that sense of community here and one of the ways we’re doing that is by combining the idea of learning how to support your community, but also giving them a fun space,” said Elissa Gallegos, First-Year Experience program coordinator.
The General’s Store is an on-campus food pantry that provides students with food and hygiene supplies at no cost, aiming to improve access to food for students. Students who meet the income requirements can come to the store once a week, three times a month. For more information on the General’s Store, students can visit The General’s Store.
With donations collected throughout the afternoon and steady student participation, organizers said the event met its goal of combining fun with purpose. They plan to continue offering similar programs to encourage involvement and support across the Jaguar community.
“This is very much a campus that has a culture to give back and support one another,” said Mays Center Assistant Director Lori Day.
The three organizations came together for this event to provide students with knowledge of resources and clubs on campus.
When attendees walked into the event, the lights were turned down and the movie Coraline was playing on the two big screens in the room. On the tables in the corner, there were crafts, including coloring sheets and tote bag painting; all supplies were provided for students.
Snacks and drinks were offered to students in addition to entertainment. Many students said the event offered an opportunity to bond with friends as well as introduced them to resources on campus they may not have known otherwise.
“It kind of helped me learn resources that I haven’t learned. It also helped me get through the semester as a first-year student,” said Zakira Hardy, criminal justice freshman.
Organizers said they hope the Fall Fest will continue to build a culture of service among new students and strengthen connections across campus.
“A lot of them are with people that they know, so we are trying to build that sense of community,” Gallegos said.
They are building a sense of community by giving back to their community. By donating to the General’s Store, students are helping their peers directly.
“This could impact your friend and you don’t even know it,” Gallegos said.
The event’s tagline is “Jags Don’t Just Roar, They Reach Out.” This phrase has significant meaning to the organizations that hosted the event.
“Not just saying we’re going to do something, we actually try to make a change and actually try to reach out to students and help them get integrated within their first year here so they can create a community and friends,” said Oriette Chapa, FYE organizer.
The event attracted 176 students, raised $334.01 and collected 146 items to donate to the General’s Store. The event exceeded the organizations’ goals and expectations. This was their first year hosting the event, and organizers look forward to hosting more in the future.
