A new semester is upon us and with it comes the frigid, unflinching cold of winter. The new semester also brings with it the strain and stress of school. From the vast array of homework to the daily grind of college life, a new semester is inevitably a stressful time.
To help ease that anxiety and to engage students in meaningful ways, Sinclair is offering up their annual event the long running Winter Wonderland. The annual event has been held at Sinclair since before the downtown campus was built.
This year the event will be taking place on Feb. 20, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Tartan Marketplace, near the ATMs and double doors leading into the cafeteria, and will feature a wide array of games, prizes and events to ease the student body in for the long haul that is the new semester.
“Winter Wonderland is an annual event hosted at Sinclair, typically hosted in the winter months.” Said Tristan Chaput, Coordinator of Student Engagement, who has been at Sinclair since July.
“It’s a mid-year campus wide event where we’re just looking to re-engage the community and boost morale after winter break.” Chaput continued.
This year’s theme will be “Civic Engagement,” as the event will be taking place during the week of President’s Day.
Keeping to that theme there will be modeling clay there for people who intend on sculpting their version of Mount Rushmore and the Financial Literacy Committee will be hosting a game with money, as our President’s faces grace it.
The Student Senate will be there, talking about voter registration and explaining ways for students to get engaged in the Student Senate. In addition, Carol Glaser-Atkins will be there talking to students about Title IX, the federal civil rights law that was passed as part of the Education Amendments of 1972.
Jennifer King-Cooper, a professor in psychology at Sinclair, will be giving a speech on women’s rights and gender in politics.
Being that the event will be taking place in February, which is Black History Month, The African American Male Initiative will be there, an organization designed to “help young men find their passion, walk in their purpose, and reach their potential.”
Veteran’s Services will be there, going over all the ways they help veterans in the Dayton community and at Sinclair.
The Appalachian Outreach, a program that partners to provide programs and services that help eliminate educational and social barriers, champion the benefits of post secondary education and life skills training, and promote Appalachian cultural awareness. Multifaith Ministry will be there in kind.
It’ll also be Student Recreation Week at Sinclair, so the Physical Activity Center will have a table set up, discussing all that it has to offer.
As well, the Library, Book Store, and the Tutoring and Learning Centers will be there to alert students to all of the potential resources they have to offer.
The event will also host a “Cash Cube,” which will have “golden tickets, per se,” says Tristan Chaput, that can be used as meal cards of either $10 or $1.99. She went on to say:
“We’ll also have cotton candy, cause who doesn’t love cotton candy, right?”
So, come step out of the cold, meet your fellow students and enjoy the bevy of games and activities that await you here at Sinclair, because Winter Wonderland is coming.
Richard Foltz
Reporter