Poole Council Gives Students Fun Respite With Inaugural Fall Festival

The air was crisp and the food was bountiful at Poole Council’s inaugural Fall Festival on Thursday. 

The event — which sought to provide a much-needed break for students from their mid-semester workloads — was held in the east courtyard of Nelson Hall. 

Food, games and music were promised and that’s what everyone got, as tables overflowed with bags of popcorn, candy apples and boxes of cookies; cornhole beanbags flew; and Billy Joel crooned. 

“We wanted to create an event for students, faculty [and] staff to come out, decompress from classes, get away … and interact with each other outside of the classroom,” Council Representative Kate Chambers said while trying to keep up with the popcorn-buying rush. “Just create a fun environment in the fall season post midterms.”

Poole Council, the student government for the Poole College of Management, acts as a representative body for Poole College students and connects them with college faculty and staff. 

“Poole Council is basically the liaison between the students and faculty here at Poole College, so we host different events to connect students with the student organizations,” Council Communications Director Trevor Deaton said.  “We host things like Poole Party, where the organizations set up outside of [Port City Java at Talley Student Union] and connect with the students.”

The council also holds presidents roundtables, in which Poole organization presidents discuss how to improve the college, and tabling events that allow for general student input.

In many ways, the council gives Poole students opportunities to positively impact the educational experience at and direction of the college.

Council President Sanghyun Shin joined because he wanted to make an impact. “I was seeking the opportunity to help students, to help organizations, to help Poole College in general,” Shin said.

With the event, the council also intended to make everyone more aware of its main function and objective. 

“Our hope is to help Poole Council become a little more visible, to provide an informal means of allowing students to interact with the faculty and staff and then to provide some more connection between the students and their council members,” Tamah Morant, associate dean of undergraduate programs at Poole College of Management, said.

In that vein, the council is considering hosting a spring fling next year, Morant said. So, watch out — there might just be puppies.

~ Justin Goldberg