Student Activities Wants Students To Pop In

September 9, 2003

by Marianne May, student writer

Students were drawn into the office of student activities Aug. 28 by the aroma of hot buttered popcorn, as staff members wearing personalized aprons greeted them with huge smiles.
The popcorn and the aprons are part of a new program called "Pop In Thursdays," which are designed to give students an opportunity to meet the staff and to hear about the opportunities for involvement at Baylor.
"We wanted to offer students a fun time for celebration and an opportunity to build relationships with our staff," said David Ortiz, director of student activities. "As you can see from the popcorn trail people left behind, it's been a great success."
Martha Howell, coordinator for student organizations, created the program, which she hopes will generate more student traffic through the office and encourage new students to get involved in student activities.
"We wanted to give students the chance to get to know us as more than 'police' who check to make sure they registered their activities," she said, "We're interested in the students themselves."
The program is a partnership between the office and Collins Café, which will supply the popcorn machine and the popcorn every week.
For the kick-off event, the Baylor computer store donated prizes, including software packages, a laptop case, and a laser jet printer.
The program will also serve another purpose: helping student organizations get the word out about their activities and find more students looking for way to get involved at Baylor.
Each week, one or two different groups will sponsor a "Pop In Thursday." At least two members of the organization will hand out popcorn and talk with students.
"We wanted to give students a venue other than chalking and posting fliers to help promote their activities," Howell said.