If there’s one thing college students like, it’s free and discounted anything. That was part of the thinking behind the Rhatigan Student Center open house on Tuesday.
During the event’s second iteration, the RSC crawled with students engaging with student organizations, waiting in a crowd for a free momento and taking advantage of deals on food and drinks.
While students enjoyed discounts and freebies, Dining Services and the RSC advertised their amenities and products.
“We kind of just wanted a day that would encourage people to come in the building and maybe visit departments they haven’t visited before,” Vanessa Bell, director of marketing for the RSC, said. “We had done faculty and staff appreciation days before, but we wanted to do something where our students can also participate.”
The Shocker Store offered a deal as part of the open house. All WSU-branded merchandise was 20% off in the RSC location. Teresa Sheahan, a sales associate, said the discount increased business for them.
Restaurants partnered with dining services offered similar discounts, including 25% off some menu items at Starbucks, 10% off Chick-Fil-A cookies and a free keychain to the first 25 orders at Panda Express. The catering department had a free popcorn bar from 1 to 3 p.m., and a truck parked outside gave out coffee and tea Monster products.
According to Bell, the RSC handed out free mugs, an offer that she said was very popular last year. Students could pick up a mug and access many of the other discounts and freebies only with a campus ID.
Last year, Shocker Sports Grill & Lanes offered free bowling to students. This time, it provided free billiards with a Shocker ID.
Kaavyasri Balasubramanyam, a graduate student in business analytics, said she wouldn’t normally play pool in the RSC because of the cost.
“If you wish to play, it will cost pretty much a meal,” she said.
She and her friends jumped at the chance to play a game for free.
Student organizations gave out candy, pens and other promotional items to advertise themselves. The Student Activities Council assembled a large crowd with their custom street signs printed on the spot. NaKayla Murff, the student activities coordinator, said at 12:30 p.m. that they had produced 170 of the signs so far.
Ahmad Jesri, a junior biomedical engineering major, also took advantage of the activity to promote his group, Students Organize for Syria. He handed out candy and showed students that stopped by how to locate Syria on a map.
“It’s really just to raise awareness about our club and try to get new members,” Jesri said.
Students who missed the open house can still visit the Shocker Sports Grill & Lanes, Shocker Store, and the restaurants in the RSC’s food court. The RSC is open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. with varying hours on weekends and for each of the restaurants and amenities.
