The Shippensburg University College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) hosted a social hour for students and faculty to connect and build human connections and relationships on Feb. 17 in the Dauphin Humanities Center Fishbowl.
Beignets and hot chocolate were provided to the attendees. Dean Sabita Manian, along with other faculty, mingled and engaged with students, fulfilling the purpose building friendships at the event.
“It creates some wonderfully informal spaces for interaction that’s outside the classroom,” said Manian. “That reinforces a sense of belonging and community both for faculty as well as for students.”
Manian explained the importance of social events like this for students. She wants to make sure students feel at home with the mix of on-campus and commuter students in the college.
“That to me is the most exciting part about creating a community and strengthening it,” said Manian.
But creating and strengthening a community was not the only benefit of the social hour. It also supported the college’s efforts of outreach and making students aware of what they do and welcoming them to build human connections.
One of the ways the college is doing this is by working with the Shippensburg chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) to create an Instagram account for the college.
Chapter President Luke Rainey explained some of the background on why the account is important to CAS.
Rainey said that they are trying to create an account “that depicts the interdisciplinary and the creativity of the students across all majors within the college.”
Rainey also said PRSSA has done organizational research in preparation for the account launch, such as looking into the best practices for social media management in academic settings.
CAS and PRSSA are still finalizing plans for the account launch in the future.
Manian hopes that the use of social media spreads the word about CAS and the sense of community it is creating.
“We’re all here for one another,” Manian said. “Though we might feel thoroughly alone at times, this… [gives] the students a sense that they have family outside their own families.”
Manian plans on hosting more social events for CAS in the future to further promote building human connection at SU.
For more information and updates on CAS, visit https://www.ship.edu/academics/cas/.
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