Student Involvement Committee promotes student activity with frequent events
By Catharine Runion · Community Editor
Grove City College’s Student Involvement Committee (SIC) is working hard to prepare and plan another semester of Thursday Night Hangs.
The Student Involvement Committee is an organization under the Student Engagement Office, which puts on many of Grove’s most beloved events. They host movie nights (with popcorn and snacks — don’t worry!), Food Truck Fridays and the monthly sticker drops in SHAL.
The committee hosts events nearly every Thursday. In the past, they’ve had game nights, Mario Kart tournaments and crafting. They frequently collaborate with other student organizations like Art & Soul to host nights that publicize the organization and draw on its resources to put on an exciting event.
“SIC hosts Thursday Night Hangs at least three Thursdays a month from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Student Union. They focus on creating fellowship for students for free,” Event Lead Madison Lynch said.
The diversity of events is an intentional part of SIC’s mission. “We’re aiming to connect students across many interests and grow the college’s community,” Lynch said.
These events are often seasonal. In the past, they’ve had pumpkin painting, Christmas cookie decorating and valentine designing. Other events, like Mood Boards & Mocktails or Folk Art & Fresh Brews, combine snacking with crafting.
Upcoming events will include Mocktails and Masterpieces (Sept. 11), Plant Potting (Sept. 25), Game Night (Oct. 16) and Pumpkin Painting (Oct. 23).
Committee head and Director of Student Engagement Katie Van Dam officially introduced these events, but she says that they have been collaborative in nature since the beginning. “From what I remember, it was the product of a brainstorming session in one of our meetings. Thursdays are sort of a dead day on campus, so we came up with the idea of doing a ‘come-and-go’ kind of event,” Van Dam said.
With the rigor of most students’ schedules, Van Dam and her team recognized that not everyone had time to commit to two hours of an activity every week. When Thursday Night Hangs were first advertised, it was with the idea that anyone could just come for 20 minutes and still have a good time.
“We wanted to create an opportunity for students to just come take a study break, grow in community with one another and grow their relationships with the Lord,” Van Dam expressed.
Thursday Night Hangs originally involved collaborations with organizations that the SIC team were associated with. Over the last couple of years, however, more organizations have reached out to collaborate with SIC. This expansion increases representation of clubs across Grove City College, but it also expands the diversity of events being hosted, since many clubs have suggested their own ideas for new Thursday Night Hangs.
Van Dam and the rest of the SIC team have been thrilled to see these events take off and grow in attendance. They seek to be a place for students to meet, connect and grow in community.
For those who missed the Org Fair last week, Thursday Night Hangs could be the perfect way to learn about other clubs and meet new people.
