By: Haley Hersey, News Editor
The Office of the Student Body President brought a catered dinner to the DoubleTree for residents to enjoy as part of Commuter Student Appreciation Week.
Those who attended the dinner event on November 15 were able to eat a catered dinner from Olive Garden. From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., students were able to eat and socialize with cabinet members including the Student Body President Hussein Maow and Vice President Bri Demaso.
“We regularly have events on campus that are convenient to residential students, so we thought it would only be fair to bring an event to our students who have a difficult time getting to campus if they do not own a vehicle,” said Student Body Vice President, Bri Demaso. “Additionally, we wanted to take the time to get to know these students, as well as have them meet us and the rest of our cabinet. This is a great opportunity for the students to mingle, voice their concerns or questions to us, and to grab a delicious meal!”
Other events the Office of the Student Body President has put on this year include a Halloween Candy Giveaway with the Commuter Student Association, bringing an ice cream truck to both the Portland and Gorham campuses, sponsoring a food truck during Homecoming weekend, bringing sweet treats to Portland, and a celebratory Indigenous People’s Event. They are planning another event before finals week.
“The mission of the Office of the Student Body President is to be the student voice, by advocating for student rights and needs throughout their time here at USM,” continued Demaso. “We wanted to have a dinner as we saw that is the most consistent time where students are at the hotel, and we wanted to reach as many students as possible.”
The Commuter Student Association (CSA) also put on various events during Commuter Student Appreciation Week, which ran from November 15-20. In social media posts advertising the events, it was described as “a week of free food, give-a-ways, and on and off campus events, designed specifically for our amazing commuter students!”
On Monday there was bowling and karaoke at Round 1 in the Maine Mall. Tuesday students could go to IT Adventure Rope Course, also in the mall. Therapy dogs, lawn games and “free swag” giveaways happened on Wednesday. Thursday morning there was a tie-dye kit giveaway and Axe throwing in the evening. On Saturday, students could participate in EVO Rock Climbing.
Those interested in helping plan future Commuter Student events can email the CSA at [email protected]. To get in contact with Student Body President Hussein Maow, email [email protected]. For Vice President Bri Demaso, email [email protected].