Last Friday, Sept. 12, the Dean of Students’ office held an outreach event with a unique twist. Students were invited to learn about resources available to support college life, but the event’s activities were more akin to those of an elementary school party. Instead of lecturing from a podium or flipping through a slick slide deck, the Assistant Dean of Students, James Allen Jr., was sitting among the students while enjoying a classic game of Mario Kart.
The event billed as “Mario Kart With a Dean” delivered on exactly what was promised. Students sat in a circle around a table, controllers in hand and snacking on pizza as flashing lights filled the otherwise dark room with the bright colors of Mario Kart. The event was aimed at raising awareness of programs offered by the Dean of Students’ office, as well as New Student & Transition programs, in a unique way. Students were able to make conversation and ask whatever questions they had about the role of the Dean of Students’ office in a low-pressure and casual environment.
The event had a turnout of around a dozen people, and there was plenty of pizza left to go around.
“Honestly, I haven’t heard of playing Mario Kart with a dean before. So, I think that was really intriguing. [I was] to be able to like realize that they’re not like this big, you know, person sitting in an office, but it’s more like someone you can connect with,” said Sindhu Belki M.S. AE, referring to members of administration in general.. “This is definitely a great way to connect with students. I mean, who would say no to like Mario Kart and pizza, right?”
Other students were less certain about the event’s effectiveness for outreach.
“You know, it’s not like there’s definitely way worse ideas. It just works, but I feel like there’s definitely some more you could do,” said Rix Lawler, second-year BA. “I mean, considering there’s like five people in there, but no, I like it personally, but I don’t know if it’s the best like actual outreach plan,” Lawler said. Allen Jr. explained that he wanted a way to inform students of the different programs available to them through the Dean of Students’ office while also mixing in his love for gaming.
“I love Mario Kart, I love Smash Bros and stuff like that. And so, I just wanted to mesh the two just so it could be informational yet fun as well,” Allen said. “I usually drive as Toad. Toad is the only answer.”
There are several reasons the event might have struggled to attract a large crowd, but Allen believes that this outreach is crucial for destigmatizing the role of administrators in the student experience.
“[We held this event] not only to understand new student transition programs [and] opportunities in our office, but for our students to know what a dean is on campus,” Allen said. “Folks may think it’s a principal’s office or something like that, but it’s our slogan in the Dean of Students office is that we’re a friend of the student.”
Allen believes that, despite the low turnout, the event was a success and a continuation of his program’s overall mission, and indeed, the students who did attend enjoyed their time socializing and making new friends over food. The event serves as a stepping stone for Allen and a way for his office to get as close to the very group of students they were made to support as possible.
“I don’t want for the first time that I meet you as in a dean appointment and you think that you’re in trouble for something,” Allen explained. “No, you’re going to meet me at this event here. We’re going to be having fun playing Mario Kart.”