New event brings a sense of community to the Courts residents

By Maddi Achtyl

The Junior and Senior Courts introduced a new event, called Waffle Wednesday, to promote a sense of community among residents living in the courts while raising money for charities. 

The concept of Waffle Wednesday originated as Christian Hernandez, Residence Director of Colonial & Commonwealth Courts, engaged in 20-minute conversations with his residents last year, seeking ways to enhance their experience. A recurring idea that kept coming up was to host a Courts-only activity that would bring the residents together.  

“Waffle Wednesdays came as I was internally brainstorming how to launch an official signature event for the Courts,” said Hernandez.  

Planning for this event began last February, when Hernandez introduced the idea and logistics to last year's Resident Assistants and House Representative Council. Over the summer, Hernandez was hard at work creating the menu and order form, as well as purchasing all the necessary supplies and equipment. He also conducted several test runs with current Courts RAs and staff members. 

The House Representative Council, comprising 20 members, one from each house, votes on which houses will host Waffle Wednesdays each month. If selected to host, the House Representative signs their house up for a date and announces the cause their house intends to support.  

September was the first month for the event. Four different houses held Waffle Wednesday, and a total of 189 orders were received, resulting in more than $700 raised. 

The house that raises the most money each month chooses which organization gets the donation. Manchester/Nantucket raised the most for September, and that month’s money being donated to St. Jude's Children’s Research Hospital. 

Six volunteers from the hosting house assist with setting up and making the waffles. This event gives the whole house a chance to come together and socialize while making and eating waffles. 

Waffle Wednesdays take place every Wednesday at a different location from 7 to 9 p.m. Students can use the link sent to the Courts residents to place an order for a waffle. The menu is as follows: 

• Half Waffle – $2 (includes 2 toppings)  

• Full Waffle – $3 (includes 2 toppings)  

• Chocolate Chip Waffle – $4 (includes 2 toppings)  

• Double Waffle – $5 (includes 2 toppings)  

  
  

Creating a more community-oriented feel within the Courts was the goal of this initiative. John Bamford, Colonial Courts Resident Assistant, said this was really important to him and Hernandez, and it has been highly successful so far. 

“Christian was always confident that the event was going to do well, but I was surprised by the amount of waffles that have been sold,” said Bamford. 

He went on to say, “It gives everyone a common program and event that everyone is familiar with. Like I said before, having this as something people can look forward to in the middle of the week is also a great aspect of it.” 

There are four more Waffle Wednesdays scheduled for this semester, and a total of seven are planned for the spring. Hernandez hopes to continue running this event each year as it has been a big hit and has brought a sense of community to the residents.