By: Emily Nixon
The Student Center’s second-floor halls were bustling with the chatter of students and wafting the smells of freshly baked waffles and fruit. The LGBTQ+ Resource Center held its second annual waffle event to welcome back returning students and meet new students on Sept. 9.
The idea for the event came from Bee Friedman, a college assistant for the LGBTQ+ Resource Center.
“90% of the idea came from the pun, which is, you know, gay people – fruity – fruity waffles,” said Friedman. “Waffles are cheap to make. They’re easy to make, and everyone likes them.”
The event employed one of the most well-known tactics to attract college students – free food, according to Cvent, a popular event organization website.
“It [the event] also brings people in because they wanna get food,” said Friedman. “So they come into the Center, and they get to see the Center, and then they know it exists.”
Looking back on last year’s turnout, Friedman learned to widen their goals.
“Turnout last year was huge, like way bigger than we expected, which is why we’re doing it again this year,” said Friedman. “Last year, we had, I believe, 60 people RSVP, and then 160 showed up.”
Friedman continued to share their excitement, “This year, we had 90 people to RSVP,” said Friedman. “So, we expect 190 to 200 people to show up.”
At the end of the event, Friedman was happy with the event turnout, but was uncertain of the event’s future as they are to graduate this semester, leaving the event’s fate up to Kelly Spivey, the Director of the LGBTQ+ Resource Center.
“I think it went incredible,” said Friedman. “I probably won’t be here next year, and this is my brainchild. So, we’ll see [if it happens again]. That’s up to Kelly.”
Not only did the event bring awareness to the Center, but it also inspired people to return to the Center, according to Friedman.
“There was definitely a lot of people whose first experience at the Center was at this event,” said Friedman. “I mean, I can think of, right now, off the top of my head, like five people who I first met at the waffle event.”
The event takes a lot of pre-planning and work to pull off, especially for the number of students they expect to come, according to Friedman.
. “The physical set-up is the last step, so the real set-up is flyering, getting the word out, social media stuff, and planning […] All that stuff [getting ingredients] did happen yesterday, and that was our entire day was spent getting this stuff set up,” said Friedman.
The work the Center put into the event was not in vain, as students like Tamia Sharpe, a freshman majoring in Biology, were motivated to come back to the Center for future events.
“ I really liked it. The waffles are really cute. The decorations are really cute,” said Sharpe. “I want to get to know the group more. It seems friendly.”
While the event brought students into the Center, the atmosphere kept them there and drew their interest, according to Skye Schultz, a freshman majoring in film.
“The environment is very nice. The people are super nice,” said Schultz. “I wish I had been here earlier when all the people were here to get to know everybody, but […] it’s just very inviting and warm […] Everyone seems to be on the same wavelength.”
Friedman’s favorite moment of the event was the rush of students coming to the event during common hours, which are 12-2 p.m.
“I liked that 12:30 rush. I thought that was great,” said Friedman. “The Center was literally full to the brim with people. Everyone was chatting. People were dancing, taking pictures, and stuff. I think that was the highlight for sure.”
Friedman and the other volunteers were steadfast in their efforts to make sure the event ran smoothly.
“There was no break for a good thirty minutes of just serving,” said Friedman about the height of the event.
One of the few complaints from students about the event was the limited room for seating and hanging out; however, the event was held in the Center because the main focus of the event is to familiarize students with the Center itself, according to Friedman.
“The bigger room, we’ve considered. We [the LGBTQ+ Resource Center staff] threw it back and forth, but the point is to get people to know the Center. It’s an open house,” said Friedman. “So we gotta do it in the Center.”
At the end of the event, Friedman said one of the only things they’d have done differently was to buy more waffle mix.
“We should have bought more waffle mix,” said Friedman. “We got four boxes, which you thought would be plenty, but truly was not.”
Students interested in future events by the LGBTQ+ Resource Center can check out their Instagram: @lgbtqcenter_bc.