On Feb. 15, the Student Activities Board (SAB) hosted its first “No One Eats Alone Dinner” in the Pirate Dining Room.
According to the SAB Twitter, @SHU_SAB, the goal of the event was for Seton Hall students to eat dinner with someone that they have not interacted with yet during their time at Seton Hall. Students were encouraged to share their experiences at Seton Hall and any other places they had been, also offering a networking experience.
Ellis Mitchell, a sophomore sports management major, serves as the graphic design chair for SAB and said that the idea for “No One Eats Alone” was received through a Formstack. He said in an e-mail, “This event was tailored to make out-of-state or international students feel more at home.”
Mitchell said the SAB team learned that national “No One Eats Alone Day” falls on Feb. 15 every year and decided it would be the most appropriate time to implement the event on campus.
Although the event targeted students not native to New Jersey, Mitchell explained that SAB wanted to make sure the event was inclusive for all students at Seton Hall. He said as a freshman last year, “I quickly learned that a minor thing such as finding people to eat with made my experience at Seton Hall so much better.”
Santiago Cabrera, a freshman economics major, is from Venezuela and said he was excited to come to Seton Hall, but that his adjustment had been a struggle.
“The problems [in America] are different than the problems back home, which are mostly political,” Cabrera said. “Since I was heavily involved in those problems at home, I don’t feel that I’ve met anyone who understands what that really feels like and means.”
However, Cabrera said that being a part of the Martin Luther King Scholarship Association (MLKSA) has helped him find his niche. “Even though they don’t understand the struggles faced in Venezuela, they treat me like one of their own and helped me find some great friends in the university,” he said. He encourages students to be involved on campus and attend events in order to find their place at Seton Hall.
Michael McMurty, a sophomore English major, said that as an out-of-state student he also struggled with adjusting to being far away from home.
“I heavily advocate for trying a bunch of new clubs and going to as many events on campus as possible,” McMurty said. He said that SAB was passionate about hosting the event since they have a diverse group of leaders and felt that they “can do more to show support for all out-of-state students at SHU.”
Upon evaluating the success of the event, Mitchell said SAB is hoping to program the event into a welcome week event next year for the Class of 2023.
Elise Kerim can be reached at elise.kerim@student.shu.edu.
