Brianna Wallen & Lexi White – General Reporters
When you hear the word jersey, what do you think of? Do you think of Jersey Mike’s delicious sub sandwiches? The hit reality T.V. show, Jersey Shore? Your favorite professional sports player’s jersey? Well, the university’s Programs Council hosted an event on Wednesday, Nov. 1 that had all three of these aspects.
Located in Room 217 at the Adanti Student Center, the Programs Council committee satisfied all the students’ jersey related needs. Students had the opportunity to munch on handcrafted sandwiches, sit back and tune into iconic reality TV episodes and enter a chance to win a sports jersey.
The university’s Program Council, also known as the ProCon Committee, is responsible for multiple interactive events on campus. Psychology major Avery Loomis, a junior, was one of the students running the event.
Loomis said, “Today is actually National Jersey Day, so we decided to play into the theme by getting Jersey Mike’s, playing ‘Jersey Shore’ in the background, and we are doing a raffle for a jersey.”
Loomis said that there are four committees that make up the Programs Council: the daytime committee, which was running Jersey Day, the nighttime committee, the weekend committee and the commuter committee.
When asked what the purpose of hosting an event like this was, Loomis said, “There is this aspect of being able to feed students who potentially do not want to spend money on food or cannot afford to spend money on food, but it is also just an opportunity to get people to come in, sit and eat with their friends and meet new people. It is an event by students, for students.”
Loomis said, “We came up with this event’s idea last semester, so it has been in the works for a long time, but within the last three weeks or so was when everything started to get put into motion. We had to place this very large order of subs to Jersey Mike’s.”
Along with Loomis, nursing major Sanna Mohammed, a sophomore, is also a member of the daytime committee. Mohammed said that her and other members carry out events from Monday to Wednesday from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Mohammed said that she promotes the organization’s goal of enhancing each student’s experience through a variety of creative initiatives.
“It’s a good way for people to get food and try things that they can’t get on campus,” Mohammed said.
Jersey Day is one of the numerous events that offers students food and experiences that go beyond the campus. These events also allow students to retreat from school and engage in a social environment.
“People can get a break from their academic life and learn about this school from a social perspective,” Mohammed said.
Overall, participants of the event enjoyed their time celebrating Jersey Day. Business management major Zachary Guy, a freshman, said that he found joy in the complimentary sandwiches. “I think it’s always a good idea to have free food,” Guy said.
Other students also had positive feedback on the event. Undecided major Kayla Garcia, a freshman, said that she liked the environment of the event.
“I liked the sense of community because everyone got to come together and eat and just enjoy themselves,” Garcia said. “And I like Jersey Shore.”
In addition to providing students with a social outlet, the club offers opportunities for students to join and get involved. “It can help students with networking and to join ProCon,” Mohammed said.
The daytime committee hosts a variety of events every month. Loomis said, “We do events like this all the time. We are the Programs Council, so three to four times a month we do events. The PB&J Thursday that happens every week is also our doing.”
