If the blue smear on 4-year-old Liam Rogers’s smiling face, courtesy of the clump of cotton candy in his hand, was any indication, Friday afternoon’s Gate-Town Connection Barbecue on Whitnall Field was a success for its student organizers.
Initiated by Jordan Sheiner ’12, the event brought area residents to IJʿ’s campus to meet and mingle with students, faculty, and staff. There was free food and drinks provided by IJʿ Dining Services, inflatable bounce houses, a dunk tank, music by the all-professor band Danger Boy, and lots of conversation.
Sheiner said he was heartened by the good turnout Friday, and how glad he was to see so many area residents and students having fun on what he called IJʿ’s “back yard.”
A member of the Blue Diamond Society, Sheiner and his organization, along with Gamma Phi Beta, student volunteer firefighters, and the Office of Residential Life, worked hard to bring the event to fruition.
Sheiner had heard the mayor speak last year at a Student Government Association meeting. He thought that, while there was good conversation at the meeting, there was a bit of a disconnect between students and village leaders, he said. He wanted to bridge that gap.
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“I hope that having everyone together can foster some discussion that otherwise would not occur, and that this event is a step in the right direction,” he said.
Sheiner had brought his idea for a town-gown event to Ryan Bennett, an associate director with the Office of Residential Life. Bennett put him in touch with Joanne Borfitz, associate vice president of community affairs, and the collaborative work with the mayor began.
Similar events used to be held on the Village Green, but were stopped about 10 years ago. Sheiner hopes to make the Whitnall Field event an annual tradition.
“When it comes down to it, we all are members of one larger community,” he said.