60 in 6 offers events ranging from DIY nights to intramural sports and board game nights. Students have the chance to find new groups to become involved in or to have fun for the night.
On Aug. 27, Paint U, sponsored by Marbeck Center Board, kicked off 60 in 6, which will continue through the next five weeks. The 60 in 6 events will conclude at fall break on Oct. 8 with Ice Cream Flights in Basset Plaza sponsored by the Office of Student Engagement. There will be a variety of ice cream flavors to choose from.
60 in 6 has been an event series at Bluffton since 2015, but there is a new director of student engagement in charge of the events. Holly Metzger, who previously worked in admissions, is now director of student engagement and works with Kevin White, the assistant director of student engagement.
“We try to have a wide range of activities on campus,” Metzger said. “There are events that we have throughout those six weeks that maybe one of them is not for everybody, but maybe there’s something else happening that day will appeal to somebody else.”
Students gather to design their own floor mats for their dorm rooms.
Some of the events that have been a part of the 60 in 6 series include dorm decor bingo, a hypnotist, fall sports and mud volleyball. Mud volleyball was a new event this year sponsored by Marbeck Center Board. Four teams competed to win a $200 gift card to Luke’s. After a single-elimination style bracket, the winner was declared.
Miles Frey, a junior middle childhood education major, enjoyed the even and reflected on the diversity of events 60 in 6 has to offer.
“Personally I’m more interested in going out with the boys to have a good time,” Frey said. “It just depends on who you are and what kind of things you are interested in. There’s a ton of events.”
The 60 in 6 event series was created to encourage students to stay on campus during the first weeks of starting or returning to college. New students are encouraged to find some things to become involved in to help find their spot on campus. The events are designed to help students to find distractions from the stress of starting the semester and being away from home, White said.
“Within the first six weeks, that’s when new students are most vulnerable to homesickness and the changes of moving into a new place for the first time,” White said. “That’s why we try to give them the first looks at what we do, the kind of ways that they can get engaged and stay involved on campus.”
Hypnotist David Anthony hypnotizes students in The Commons photo by Elizabeth Rockwell
Events are hosted by groups on campus, including Marbeck Center Board, Multicultural Student Organization, Bluffton University Nutrition Club, Bluffton Education Organization and many more. Bluffton currently has more than 20 active student groups on campus.
To find out what events are happening in the rest of the 60 in 6 series, look at the bulletin boards in Marbeck Center or find the calendar on the university website.
