New SAB program encourages participation in campus events

Hoping to encourage more student participation in Student Activities Board events, engineering major Emerson Stobbe will spend part of his senior year implementing an SAB All-Stars rewards system. Students enter by using their student ID card to sign in at events, and Stobbe’s goal is to identify the top 50 individual participants throughout the fall semester. 

Those who make the list will be invited to an exclusive late-semester party at Crazy Pinz with transportation and prizes provided. Students already sign in to events using their ID cards, and Stobbe said the use of that system is essential.

“It’s a goal to pilot it for one semester and then we’ll be able to analyze the data,” Stobbe said. “Hopefully, it turns out great and students and campus staff enjoy the idea, and then maybe it becomes something that permanently stays at PFW. I’m hoping this can increase student participation and engagement on campus.”

Stobbe and his girlfriend, Gianna Galante, studied similar programs at Penn State and Duke for ideas. Then he approached Jacob Eck, assistant director of Student Life, with his plan. 

Some new events to consider this year include short trips to drive go-karts, an escape room, and miniature golf. Other activities include a visit to a local corn maze and trips to Chicago and Cedar Point. All the opportunities are listed in the Mastodon Memories fall programming guide and digitally on the university’s events calendar.

SAB’s goal is to average two or three events per week and more than 40 per semester.

Annual participation has been increasing, up 10% over 2022-23. A few new events helped increase the numbers last year, including Dons in Vegas casino night and a late-night skating event that drew 150 students. The Flo Rida concert was a huge success. A new bowling event was also popular, as was Spring Fling’s Groovy Tie Dye event, which attracted more than 400 students.

Collaborating with units such as the Q Center, the Multicultural Center, and Well-being and Recreation also helped draw more students to events. Moving a greater number of activities to Student Housing on the Waterfield Campus was another successful idea, especially during the fall semester when the weather was most cooperative.

As always, the monthly bingo nights continue to be a huge success, with the final big bingo blowout on April 17 drawing a record 400 students to the International Ballroom at Walb Student Union. This year’s first bingo session is tonight.

New SAB board members this year include Shruti Srivathsan, Willow Cribb, Moksha Sree Bollapally, and Chelsea Pillow.