By Matisse Sanchez, Sept. 13, 2022
On Sept. 8, ASI held a Bestie Social event for anyone who was willing to come and find a new way to make friends. ASI staff welcomed students of all majors and years to join them in making new friends and feeling more comfortable on campus.
“Just coming back to school from being on zoom so long, you notice that people don’t really know how to talk to each other,” Julia Mora, leader of the event said. “They lack social skills.”
This ASI Bestie Social event contained a big group of students who were then prompted to talk to each other on a friend level. Such as it is with speed dating, this event held the same ideals for when it comes to finding a new partner, but in this instance a new friend.
With various prompts and four minutes to get to know your new friend, ASI made the event fun and exciting for people to be there and get to know someone new on campus. Prompts such as, “Who would you want to trade lives with,” and “what were some of the worst and best foods you’ve ever eaten,” made for interesting talks and ice breakers to get to know the other person.
Coming into Cal Poly Pomona or any university can be hard, especially when one does not know anyone. It can be overwhelming and scary to put oneself into a situation like this one.
For this event, ASI wanted to make it easier for students to feel more comfortable in their own school and feel motivated to make at least one friend during the event.
“Even though it’s my fourth year here, I still wanted to meet new people. Especially after the past couple of years that have been through zoom,” accounting major, Lauren Cadiente said.
Now that school is back in person, students may find it hard to socialize and find new friends, especially when it’s a student’s first time on campus.
Business major, Brianna Sanchez said that even though she’s been attending CPP for some time, people still seemed very unapproachable and in a rush to get out of classes.
“I want to help students learn how to talk to people again, and get rid of zoom awkwardness,” Mora said.
The room was alive with conversation as soon as the event started. With multiple students trying to find their new “besties,” there was always much to talk about and learn about a new person on campus. Pushing oneself to doing these things can only further your motivation to find someone to talk to on campus and find more friends to make a student’s experience more memorable.
“I knew at this event people were going to have the same mindset in terms of meeting new people on campus and getting to socialize,” Sanchez said. “You have to push yourself to do these kinds of things.”
“Making the first move and approaching people is the hardest part,” Cadiente said. “Starting a connection and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone can be really scary and anxious.”
ASI will be holding more events like these, with even another Bestie Social happening right around the corner on Sept. 22 and more spots available, students are now able to explore more options that are going to be on campus.
“I hope people gain a better sense of connection to the campus and other people,” Mora said. “We’re going to be holding another Bestie Social event that will be around 200 people on the University Plaza.”
To stay updated on more events like these, visit MyBar for more information on the upcoming Bestie Social and much more.
Feature image courtesy of Matisse Sanchez
