Commuter Appreciation Week contented Wednesday afternoon at the Homer Babbidge Library with \u201cLunch at the Library,\u201d a casual gathering of commuter students to enjoy a free lunch while receiving some time saving research tips from the library staff.<\/p>\n
![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/blogs.lib.uconn.edu\/news\/files\/commuterlunch.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo by Alex Sferrazza\/The Daily Campus<\/p><\/div>\n
At the engagement, commuter students were greeted and presented with a flash drive containing helpful information about utilizing the library\u2019s various research utilities. Commuters were then invited to grab a sandwich complete with chips, a cookie, an apple and soda.<\/p>\n
In lieu of a speaker or PowerPoint presentation, students were encouraged to mingle with each other and approach event staff with questions about library amenities.<\/p>\n
This was the second time the library has hosted this event, and the staff was planning for a crowd of approximately 60 students to show up between noon and 2 p.m. However by 12:15, the initial supply of prepared boxed lunches had been depleted. The crowd far exceeded the estimate of 60 that staffers had in mind based on past attendance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe increased the amount of food available from last year\u2019s event,\u201d explained Ashley Trotter, the Program Coordinator for Off-Campus Student Services. \u201cWe obviously don\u2019t want to run out of food, we even just called catering to bring more over\u201d.<\/p>\n
Trotter seemed pleased with the event\u2019s large turn out: \u201cWe hold events like these so that commuter students feel appreciated, and to help bridge the disconnect they might feel from living off campus.\u201d<\/p>\n
Quite a few of the commuters in attendance were only recently made aware of the event and Commuter Appreciation Week as a whole and were pleasantly surprised.<\/p>\n
\u201cI actually didn\u2019t even know UConn had a commuter week until my friend told me she saw a Twitter post,\u201d 7th-semester sports management major Jennifer Gobin said. \u201cI\u2019m definitely going to consider going to the remaining events later in the week now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dawn Cadogan a librarian, discussed the library\u2019s role in the event: \u201cWe want our students particularly commuters, to know that we are here for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed, much of the lunch highlighted features of the library that would be particularly useful to commuting students. Cadogan noted that students have the ability to rent iPads, Kindles and laptops for library use and can also rent bicycles at the library to assist students in getting around campus.<\/p>\n
Commuter Appreciation Week will continue on Thursday with \u201cCommuter Time Out,\u201d providing commuting students with unlimited free tokens at the Student Union game room and Friday with \u201cSpot the Hippo,\u201d a scavenger hunt around campus. The festivities conclude with free vouchers for popcorn and soda that will be given to commuting students before the weekly Friday night flick at the Student Union Theater.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Alex Sferrazza Staff Writer\/Daily Campus Reprinted from the UConn Daily Campus, published Wednesday, October 2, 2013 Commuter Appreciation Week contented Wednesday afternoon at the Homer Babbidge Library with \u201cLunch at the Library,\u201d a casual gathering of commuter students to … Continue reading