The evening had a higher turnout than anticipated for the annual Student Organization Success meeting Monday, Aug. 29, in the Kansas room of the Memorial Union.
Representatives of student organizations in attendance received information for their organizations and events to be successful, as well as updates to Homecoming.
“We’re glad that you all showed up. That’s great. That’s awesome,” said Becky Bolte, director of the Memorial Union. “This information can be boring as heck, but it’s important, and you’re going to use all of it over and over again.”
Highlights provided by Bolte and her team in the scheduling department informed students of advertising opportunities in the Union, who to contact for scheduling and the processes and details needed in order to plan an event.
“The one thing we ask you to do is fill out your events in Bods Connect,” said Laurie Mersmann, office coordinator of the Memorial Union. “That’s really important to start with. Fill out your organization’s name, how many people are going to be attending, what kind of event it is and all those very important details so we can get it in the books and get it recorded for you.”
The public relations office reminded students that they can use the service to spread the word on their events or updates. Students can email the office to distribute press releases, use monitors across campus and get featured on digital channels.
“If you guys tell us, we can tell others,” said Joy Bailes, assistant director of public relations.
Chartwells, the on-campus catering service, gave tips for students and their organizations at Washburn. Students looking to order food can do so through the Boost app, which allows students to see both nutritional and allergen information as well as view the menu and location of where it’s served.
“We also have text to chat. There’s a phone number associated with it: it’s 331-200-366. Anytime you see something, like if you have a question or if there’s no ketchup in the café, you can text that number and we can get somebody on that right away,” said Shon Spader, director of dining services. “We also have menus meant for student organizations. We want to work with you guys and help provide whatever we can at a reasonable price.”
Major highlights of the night came from Elizabeth Duvall, the student life intern overseeing Homecoming. This year, the theme is “Out of this World,” and will take place during the week of fall break, kicking off when students return to campus Wednesday, Oct. 19.
“Normally, Homecoming is a full week worth of events. However, it’s combined into three days, and the fourth day is the football game,” Ball said.
Several changes coming to Homecoming include a new name for Open Mic Night, which is now dubbed Rising Stars and is designed to act as a variety show. Nominations for Top Bod will take place at Rising Stars Oct. 19 and will end Oct. 21.
“Voting will be through Microsoft Forms,” Duvall said. “It’s going to be a very quick turnaround from when you’re able to vote and when you’re not.”
The evening concluded with introductions from Shayden Hanes, president of WSGA, and Quinn Leffingwell, vice president of WSGA, and instructions on the funding process for student organizations.
Questions regarding these resources and information about Homecoming can be directed to [email protected].
Edited by: Justin shepard, Simran Shrestha