By Claire Cameron
Reporter
With classes in full swing and midterms, papers, reports and more piling up, the new program UBreak offers students a way to relax and met new people.
UBreak is a program that is open to all students and provides an opportunity to enjoy free coffee, fruit, juice, Chick-Fil-A chicken minis and also make new friends.
Jordy Dickey, assistant director of the student union, and Los Angeles graduate student Holly Smith are the program’s directors. Both Dickey and Smith created the program in June.
“Holly and I were thinking of a program that would be a way to better connect students with one another,” Dickey said.
Smith said the main focus of this program was getting students to feel more comfortable at Baylor.
“We wanted a way to make the SUB to feel more like a home away from home,” Smith said.
The program is held twice a month on Fridays from 10 a.m. to noon in the Union Board room, which used to be the old barbershop, on the first floor of the Bill Daniel Student Center. The next UBreak will be Oct. 25.
Beaumont senior Alex Nelson went to the fist event and said she though it was great.
“Overall I think it was a great success,” Nelson said. “So many people came, they ran out of food.”
Nelson said she was looking forward to going to the next event.
“Just the general atmosphere of getting to know all the people there and talking to people that I had never seen on campus before was great,” Nelson said.
She said she thought it was a great way for students to start off their weekend with something fun.
“I got to take a break and enjoy company,” Nelson said. “I think more students should come. There’s free food and free coffee. What’s not to like?”
Smith said UBreak was not only a time for students to take a break.
“It’s also a time for students to share program ideas with Union Board about how to improve the SUB,” Smith said.
The Union Board is a student group that started last year.
Smith said the Union Board was created to sustain programs, such as UBreak and Movie night, that are both engaging and enriching in order to foster community and relationships among one another.
“We are like a family, and we want to serve students in the SUB,” Smith said.
UBreak is one way the Union Board members hope to get more students involved in the group and a way to make students feel more comfortable at their home away from home.
Dickey said she wanted students to have at least one opportunity during their week where they didn’t have to worry about school.
“It’s very important for students to feel like they have a community here at Baylor,” Dickey said. “Academics here at Baylor are very important, but when you look back at college, it’s the friends you made and the community you had that you remember.”
Smith said she also felt that taking time to de-stress was important.
“I think sometimes we get so lost in the busyness of classes that we forget to take a break,” Smith said. “UBreak is a time to refocus on friendships.”
The program also offers mugs for students. Students can buy the mugs for $3 and if they bring them to any of the other SUB events, such as Acoustic Café, movie night or Karaoke Night, they will get free coffee.
“It’s one way the Union Board is trying to support sustainability,” Smith said.
Dickey said the mugs are one way they hope to get students to come.
“We want UBreak to be something that brings students together and feel connected here,” Dickey said. “We want the Union Board to be group of familiar faces around campus.”
Dickey and Smith said they hope to see the program grow in the future.
“We hope it grows out of our space and moves to a bigger room that can accommodate more students,” Dickey said.
Smith said she is hoping the program will be able to grow into a weekly event instead of something the Union Board does twice a month.
“It’s a small program now, but it’s important for students to connect with their peers and make lifelong friendships,” Dickey said. “That just one aspect of this program.”
Smith said she is looking forward to more students coming and getting involved with the Union Board.
“Academics are important, but with UBreak and all the other events we host we want students to make friendships that will outlast their time here at Baylor,” Smith said.
