Thursday, Jan. 28 the Division of Student Affairs sponsored Lawrence’s first “Mix It Up!” luncheon at Lucinda’s. This event provided a unique opportunity for students, faculty and staff to meet and interact with each other in a comfortable and informal setting.
We all have to eat lunch, so why not eat while discussing current issues with some new faces from the faculty, staff and student body? As several participants found out, this can be a very rewarding experience.
To effectively mix things up during the lunch hour, participants were given a nametag and randomly assigned a table in the dining room. Eventually, about 30 people turned up for the event. This provided a perfect opportunity for participants to step out of their normal circle and get to know those people they always see in passing but don’t really know well enough to say “hi” to.
Flyers handed out at the door had some good conversation starters and discussion questions to get the conversation moving beyond the usual, “What year are you?” and “So, what’s your major?”
The topics discussed were very relevant to the Lawrence community and included everything from ideas for improving campus life to issues of wellness and health.
Participants especially enjoyed this opportunity to gain insight into other people’s perspectives on campus issues.
Assistant Director of Admissions Chuck Erickson was very interested to hear from students he normally wouldn’t come into contact with on a regular basis about how they thought things were going at Lawrence.
Junior Nathan Litt also commented that he enjoyed discussing relevant topics with both students and faculty together.
Discussion covered what majors students would like to see added to the curriculum, which included international relations and Italian, as well as the pros and cons of the plans for the new campus center.
There was a general interest among participants in seeing this event continue in the future, possibly even on a regular basis. Litt commented, “We’re often too busy with classes and other commitments to take a brief moment to talk about important issues that affect our lives here at Lawrence.”
Erickson’s feelings were similar. “I really feel that this is a great event and we should continue it!”
Participants felt that a bigger turnout from both the staff and student body would make the event even more successful in the future. However, despite the number of participants, those who did decide to “mix things up” enjoyed the experience.
Mixing it up at Lucinda’s
