Special Brunch Eases Students into Finals Week

How many pounds of melted chocolate can furiously studying students consume from a chocolate fountain at just one on-campus dining location in two hours? That would be 16 pounds (!), which, according to Mark Cunningham, director of UC San Diego Housing, Dining & Hospitality, “is a lot of dipping!”

Do you remember your first week of finals, and the accompanying stress and nervousness brought on by studying? In an effort to help alleviate some pre-exam jitters, UCSD Alumni partnered with UCSD Housing, Dining & Hospitality (HDH) to provide students with a special brunch dining experience Dec. 4, at all six colleges’ dining halls.

Hundreds of students attended this kick-off event to Finals Week, and enjoyed an affordable and delicious restaurant-style brunch menu created by HDH—featuring crepes, Benedicts, a carving station and made-to-order dishes unique to the normal on-campus dining experience. Complimentary orange juice and chocolate fondue fountains were also available, courtesy of UCSD Alumni.

Some colleges brought in extra perks. At Café Ventanas in Eleanor Roosevelt College, students could receive a complimentary chair massage, while Sixth College students dined in an outdoor tent space.

Approximately 40 alumni volunteers returned to campus to encourage their fellow Tritons and give advice as they prepared for their first finals week at UC San Diego. The inaugural event was developed to create a new campus tradition and memorable experience for students facing an important moment in their college career, as well as strengthen the ties between the students and alumni community. It also served as the first event partnership between UCSD Alumni and HDH directed specifically towards resident students.

The event received lots of positive feedback from the residents, HDH staff and Residence Life staff, who noted that the day “set the stage of calm and caring before the storm of finals.”

“We hope to repeat this event at the end of each quarter, so I encourage all our alumni to save the date for Sunday, March 18, and join the chocolate fountain fun with us,” says Cunningham.