Freshmen and others on campus gathered on the lawn of Neufeld Hall Aug. 23 to participate in Paint-U, an event hosted by Marbeck Center Board. From 9 to 11 p.m., students danced to a live DJ, were sprayed with water, and near the tail end of the event, one student had others limbo under one of his crutches. Pizza and drinks were also provided. The event is the first of many that are a part of the 60 in 6 initiative hosted by Bluffton.
Kevin White, assistant Director of Marbeck Center and University Event Complex and adviser to Student Senate and Marbeck Center Board, photo by Nathan Heinze
“60 in 6 is exactly what it sounds like. It’s at least 60 events in the first six weeks,” said Kevin White, assistant director of Marbeck Center and University Event Complex and adviser to Student Senate and Marbeck Center Board.
According to White, the initiative started in 2014 and is intended to help new students form a sense of community and make them feel more at home on campus.
“Research shows that the first six weeks is when newer students are more vulnerable to homesickness,” said White.
Despite the focus on new students, White also said some events targeted toward returning students, such as event focused on building resumés and skills for future job searches.
“That’s more or less geared at our seniors that are going to be entering the quote-unquote ‘real world’ next year,” said White.
White said that while Marbeck Center Board does a lot of initial event planning, many of the events are hosted or sponsored by other student organizations. Working with student organizations has allowed the program to grow. White said there will be more than 70 events this year, and there were more than 80 in 2018, with only about 20 of them actually being planned by Marbeck Center Board.
Andrew Sluss, senior social work major and member of Marbeck Center Board, photo by Nathan Heinze
“Everyone says, you know, ‘That’s gotta be a really tough job,’ but I have really good student organization leaders to work with, and they do a really good job of organizing their own events,” said White.
Andrew Sluss, a senior social work major and member of Marbeck Center Board, echoed these sentiments, stating that it is mostly White’s job to plan the events as the rest of the
team have not even met at the point events are decided on.
“We have a retreat we do for planning,” said Sluss. “It’s in late October this year. Most of [the 60in6] events don’t change from year to year, too, so we just use the same template as well.”
As for popularity, White said the general attendance of events has increased steadily over the past few years. He noted attendance varies based mostly on timing, with the events at the beginning and the end of the program having the most people present. White attributed this to new students adjusting to college life.
Wess Melanson, a freshman education major, photo by Nathan Heinze
“We take a dip, you know, in the middle, when people start getting to class or feeling like ‘Oh, okay, now I really gotta hit the books,’ ” said White. “But once they see towards the end and how they can balance classes and having a social life and going to events, we kind of see it pick back up towards the end.”
Students who were at the Paint-U event also felt positively about the program
“I’m a football player, so I’ve been here for a week or so,” said Wess Melanson, a freshman education major. “It was good to finally see some new faces and get to know some new people, hang out with some new buddies.”
When asked if he planned to go to other 60in6 events, Melanson stated that he would like to.
“They sound like a lot of fun,” said Melanson. “As long as I don’t stay out too late, that’s all I’m worried about.”
