Weekly Dinners

By: Joanne Amposta – 2nd Year – BSHE

When registering for classes, it is considered a “win” if you happen to not have class scheduled on Fridays. But sometimes, you have no choice but to register for that one class that cuts into dinnertime. Personally, my sense of productivity is extremely limited after an evening class, so why not engage in some quality self-care instead?

Last spring, my BSHE colleagues and I have made it a tradition to meet for dinner every week after our evening class. These dinners have been such a great way for us to relax and get to know one another outside of an academic setting. In fact, our time together has grown so valuable, that we decided to continue this tradition until graduation.

Here’s how it’s all organized:

• Appoint 1-2 liaisons to organize the department dinners for the semester.
• Liaisons will make a Facebook group for department dinners. Please feel free to invite whoever you want (including those outside of the department, if you’d like!).
• If dinner will take place after a late class: send out a doodle poll with a due date and time, asking for everyone to check off their general availability from Mondays to Fridays.
• The date and time that contains the most votes will be the set time for the semester. This will be an open invite for anyone who wants or is able to attend.
• The liaison will pick a classmate who will “host” for the week. The “host” is responsible to telling one of the liaisons which restaurant they pick.
• On the morning of the dinner, the liaison will post the following:
  • The name of the “host” and the restaurant for the week.
  • An RSVP poll with Yes, Maybe, and No. The RSVP poll is important to determine how many seats to request at a restaurant.
• On the evening of the dinner, everyone shows up and one of the liaisons lets the restaurant staff know how many people will be in attendance.
• EAT AND BE MERRY.
• The liaison or the current “host” will pick the next week’s “host.” We also found that rotating “hosts” was a great way to explore new Atlanta restaurants.

Remember, we only have two years here at Rollins, so why not spend it with some good food and good company? Bon appetit!