Jan. 15 marked this spring semester’s Syllabi and Spaghetti event, where UNC Asheville students gathered to learn how to stay organized for the semester while also enjoying the event’s main attraction: free spaghetti.
The event is part of a series of events hosted by UNC Asheville for new and returning students called ‘Weeks of Welcome,’ which takes place during the first two weeks of classes to get students acquainted with campus and prepare them for the semester. Regine Criser, assistant provost of student success and engagement, said the event was one of the bigger highlights of the university’s Weeks of Welcome.
“It’s a collaboration between the academic success center and student affairs and it’s just an opportunity to get students in at the beginning of the semester,” Criser said. “We provide them with some support and help with understanding the information in the syllabus and setting them up for the semester.”
Criser said when working with students in the university’s academic success center, she notices that helping students with time management helps set them up for success, not only within the semester, but their future. She said syllabi and spaghetti brings that idea to a larger audience and free spaghetti brings students through the door to hear it. Criser said the event has grown in the past couple of years and continues to grow each semester. In addition to the advice and free food, attending students are also provided with free planners, notebooks and decorations to personalize those new supplies.
“This semester we had such a great mix of students who were in their first year, students in their second year, even students who were in their fourth,” Criser said. “It’s great to see students coming back to this event again and again just to sit down and have some dedicated time to set up for the semester. It’s really awesome to see so many people here.”
Nadia Kessel, junior and spirit and tradition coordinator said Syllabi and Spaghetti can be especially helpful to new incoming students to prepare themselves for the semester and adjust to college academics.
“The workload change between high school and college is jarring. So this is a space for people to figure out their planner and figure out what’s going on in the syllabus and how to read it,” Kessel said. “But we’ve seen people from every year come here, you get free food, you get a free planner and get to decorate it and hang out with your friends.”
This is Kessel’s third time working at Syllabi and Spaghetti and she said it’s one of her favorite events to work because it’s less intense than other Weeks of Welcome events but she also enjoys helping new students prepare for what’s to come in the semester. Kessel said that every time she attends the event, she also discovers new organizational strategies for herself to implement in her own academic life.
Edward Solorio, a senior at UNC Asheville, said even seniors can benefit from attending the event. The presentation gives helpful and informative advice for staying organized through the semester and that information that is useful to all years, especially freshman.
“ I would recommend students, especially freshmen, to come to syllabi and spaghetti,” Solorio said. “Come get your free planner.”
