News 21 Nov 2006 12:20 pm
Sit down dinner draws crowd
By Elyse Krezmien
News Editor
The Residence Hall Association (RHA) held its third annual Thanksgiving sit down dinner on Wednesday in the Economou Dining Hall.
Servers for the evening included RHA members, the executive board of RHA, faculty, staff and volunteers. Over 45 faculty and staff helped out, including Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Cary Anderson, Vice President for Student Affairs Ellen O. Conley, Director of Residence Life Matt Mulville and Associate Director of Residence Life Al Pilato.
RHA Publicity Coordinator Mike Kochczynski said, “I am really impressed with the administration turnout. Seeing people like Dr. Anderson and Dr. Conley make the students feel at home.”
Approximately 20 RHA members and 40 volunteers worked during the dinner as well.
Katie Martoche, assistant director of Campus Programming and Leadership Development (CPLD), said the dinner had a turnout of nearly 500 students last year and that it was expected to draw in even more of a crowd this year.
Two-hundred and seventy-seven students used their swipe cards for the dinner and 221 were tallyed at the door, making the total for the night, including workers, around 550.
Kochczynski, who was festively dressed as a pilgrim, said, “I was really impressed with the turnout. We started with a line at the door.” Vice President of RHA Brittany Helpard was also happy with the turnout saying that there was a continuous line out the door between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Students with a meal plan who came to the dinner were charged for a regular dinner. Those who came that either forgot their swipe card or didn’t have a meal plan were able to get the meal free of charge. RHA picked up the tab in these cases.
Helpard was responsible for planning the event. She said it is not as hard to plan as it seems, because it is an event that happens every year.
It involves sending out emails about when the dinner will occur and recruiting volunteers to work the event. She also had to talk to Chartwells two weeks ago, but they already had the menu from previous years, making the process a relatively simple one.
Helpard said that she believed the dinner went very well. “This is a really fun event, because it’s a surprise,” she said. It isn’t advertised a lot, so many come to the Dining Hall expecting a normal, everyday meal. Instead they get a nice sit down Thanksgiving dinner. Resident Assistant Lisa Viapiano agreed saying it is a “pleasant surprise.”
Helpard echoed this sentiment when she said that many freshmen do not know anything about this event and then look forward to it in subsequent years. She said many upperclassman find out the dinner is coming and meet all their friends for it.
Sophomore Sam Cardamone, who volunteered at the event, said, “It was a lot of fun. Everyone was appreciative at the tables and it made for a fun atmosphere.”