Beneath a warm summer sky, and surrounded by speakers blasting out hits like “Come On Eileen” by Save Ferris and “Day ’n’ Nite” by Kid Cudi, members of Santa Rosa Junior College’s Student Life, Equity, and Engagement held ice cream socials on several Santa Rosa Junior College campuses Sept. 6.
Student Life, Equity, and Engagement distributed ice cream to around 100 students at the Santa Rosa, Petaluma and Roseland campuses from 1-3 p.m.
SRJC President Dr. Angélica Garcia joined in on the fun and helped to scoop out ice cream for those who attended the event.
Flavors included vanilla, strawberry and chocolate, with chocolate syrup, peanuts, cherries, strawberries and whipped cream among the available toppings to choose from.
“There’s really no agenda except for all to come and just enjoy an opportunity to mingle and socialize,” said Sarah Martin, SRJC event scheduling organizer. Martin noted an uptick in student engagement, adding that overall SRJC enrollment is up 11% and in-person enrollment up 8.5% for this semester.
“We have a lot more students enrolled in-person here on campus this semester, so this brings a little bit of life back on campus,” Martin said.
Members of SRJC Students For Recovery, an all-inclusive club that provides recovery support relating to alcohol, sex, drugs or relationships, attended the event, passing out flyers and providing information about the club.
“[Students For Recovery is] for anyone who feels like they’re having a hard time, regardless of it being a recovery thing,” said Ana D., a member of the club. “Let’s try and get rid of the stigma and the shame and all of that. It’s okay to have a hard time – like, we’re doing the same thing and we’re here. You don’t have to feel alone.”
Students For Recovery meets 2-3 p.m. Wednesdays in the Media Center at Doyle Library.
Lisette G., a third-year SRJC student majoring in kinesiology who selected the vanilla ice cream, said the vibes at the ice cream social were “immaculate.”
“[The event] was good. The ice cream was good,” said Melina F., a first-year SRJC student majoring in biochemistry who also chose vanilla ice cream.
Despite the supply of ice cream running out at 2 p.m., students and staff socialized with each other until the end of the day.
