On Monday, Nov. 11, Hamilton College Student Assembly (SA) hosted an ice cream social, bringing together student representatives and their peers to connect and converse over frozen treats.
The event was held on the third floor of the Sadove Student Center, which SA representatives say was chosen because it is a large space, centralized on campus, and has couches. SA created an ice cream station along the wall featuring large containers filled with vanilla and chocolate ice cream and toppings like tiny marshmallows and crushed Oreos. SA members initially sat together at the table but soon began to walk about the room once interested students started showing up.
According to Ashley Garcia ’22, SA’s Publicity Director who spearheaded the event, the ice cream social had a great turn out.
“People from multiple class years came by to eat some delicious ice cream and get to know their representatives,” she said. “I definitely believe that this event was effective, both in bringing students together and in holding important conversations.”
SA decided to host the event to increase transparency between the Assembly and the student body. Garcia said SA believes that the best way to do so is to actively encourage productive conversations between all members of the community.
She emphasized this broad engagement as a “priority” of SA, saying, “Our goal is to represent students to the best of our ability and the only way that this is possible is if we’re actively having conversations with them.”
The ice cream social also served as a space to debrief and discuss the recent Town Hall on Nov. 4. Ahead of the event, students were polled on the topics they would most like to discuss, and mental health and sustainability concerns were chosen as the two key issues for the Town Hall.
At Monday’s event, Garcia said “conversations about what we could improve and instill into upcoming Town Halls were held and taken into account,” adding that SA wanted students to know that there was still discussion about the Town Hall and the issues discussed there were still relevant.
Garcia said it was important to SA to frame the ice cream social as informal so that students would feel comfortable talking about campus life with their representatives and stopping by for a quick chat.
“It was on the third floor of Sadove where couches were available for people to lay down if they wanted to,” she said. “Overall, I thought the environment was extremely welcoming and inclusive.”
Although there was concern about turnout for the event due to blizzard warnings and a drop in temperature, Garcia said, “Student Assembly was content with the turnout.”
