The Hockey Date Auction, Citrus Bowl, and Fall Fest are well-known traditions that students look forward to each winter. With every event students gain free t-shirts and a distraction from homework and the cold weather outside. We often take these events for granted; overlooking the hard work and preparation it takes to run them. As co-heads of the Social Traditions Committee, Christi Westlin ‘15 and Cassie Pepin ’15 have spent countless hours ordering foam fingers for the Citrus Bowl, finding a theme for Feb Fest, and planning every minute of the date auction. We interviewed them to hear more about what events are coming up soon and how anyone can and should get involved with this aspect of campus life.
How/why did you first get involved in Social Traditions?
Christi: I had absolutely no idea what Social Traditions was until halfway through first semester last year. After about the 200th email I received begging people to come to the weekly meetings, I decided to actually go and see what the club was all about. I realized that it was a really easy way to be involved with events on campus, and ended up going to every meeting after that. The free t-shirts were also a big pull!
Cassie: I heard about it from the clubs fair freshman year, started going to the meetings, and just got really involved over time.
What are your favorite events to plan and why?
Christi: I really enjoy planning Fall Fest. Not a lot of people on our campus know about the event, so we tried really hard this year to get as many people involved as possible. It was a lot of fun to see Hamilton students interacting with people from the community, and it was great seeing all of our hard work planning the event pay off.
Cassie: Definitely Fall Fest because its always fun to get the community of Clinton involved in the events we are planning. Also, the Hockey Date Auction always turns out to be very entertaining.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to become more involved in Social Traditions or activities on campus?
Christi: COME TO OUR MEETINGS! We are always looking for new members, and it is a very fun club to get involved with. We meet every week in the Beinecke Fireplace Lounge at 7 on Wednesdays!
Cassie: Honestly, I think all it takes is showing up to the meetings and actively participating, and Social Traditions is always looking for new members!
What events are coming up in the next few months that students can look forward to?
Christi: FebFest is coming up extremely soon- it is the week of February 9th-16th. Not to give everything away, but we have LOTS of events planned each day…concerts, Mr. Hamilton, tastings (chocolate, cheese, beer), etc. The events are all completely free for Hamilton students, and a ton of fun.
Cassie: One of our biggest events Feb Fest is coming up the week of February 9 consisting of many events such as cheese tastings, beer tastings, comedy shows, Mr. Hamilton and much more.
Cassie Pepin ’15
Christi Westlin ’15