Donya Rouzbehi
Staff Writer
The Office of Student Engagement and Leadership hosted its annual Dinner Crawl on Aug. 28 in Mainiero Square.
Students entered with their event pass and received a free meal from a participating restaurant of their choice on D Street. Among participating restaurants were Argo Mediterranean Grille, Mi Cocina and Cafe Wang.
The Dinner Crawl was popular among the student body. With busy schedules and tight budgets, college students could not resist free food. About 150 students in all participated.
Every year, the organizers bring in a DJ blasting trendy music and beats to get the event going.
“Along with the free food, I like the music too,” Jazmine Arzaga, junior computer science major, said.
Aidyn Hosier, junior international business and language major, appreciated the convenience of enjoying a good meal while saving money.
“It’s my second time coming to the Dinner Crawl and I’ll definitely be back. But I feel like a lot of people didn’t know about it actually, our friends told us,” Hosier said.
Hosier and Arzaga both agreed that they’d prefer more publicity and promotion surrounding this event.
Organizers loved seeing students come together for a meal and sit together while supporting the local community. Jaleena Rodriguez is a junior majoring in psychology at the University and served as SOAR orientation leader last year.
This year she had the honor to be one of the coordinators of the event.
“The best part is seeing new students come together with returning students and sit together and have a meal,” Rodriguez said. “And D Street is such a monumental thing on campus, so students getting to explore it and try different food for free is really good.”
Along with Rodriguez, Hailey Battista, sophomore elementary education major, finds it interesting how much this event unites the student body on campus.
“This is my first year coordinating. It’s really interesting seeing how everyone comes together even if it’s only for a couple hours,” Battista said. “I feel like a lot of people don’t know what’s inside D Street, so this gives them the opportunity to go and explore it.”
The Office of Student Engagement and Leadership have been hosting dinner crawls for a few years now. Their goal is to gain exposure for D Street vendors and businesses in the community.
Director of Student Engagement and Leadership Cindy Vallejo-Victoria enjoys seeing new and returning students explore the city of La Verne, outside of the campus.
“Most recently, we have shifted this event to being inclusive to not just new students but our returning students as well,” Vallejo-Victoria said. “This is our third year hosting the event and my favorite part is seeing students getting excited and visiting the different restaurants. Some may not be within their budget, but with the free meal tickets, they get to try.”
Vallejo-Victoria enjoyed getting to know the business owners on D Street. She also had the pleasure of attending an Old Town La Verne business meeting.
Donya Rouzbehi can be reached at donya.rouzbehi@laverne.edu.
Donya Rouzbehi is a senior journalism major with a concentration in print/online journalism, and staff photographer for the Campus Times and La Verne Magazine. She has previously served as sports editor and a staff writer for the Campus Times, and is co-editor-in-chief of La Verne Magazine. Her other writing can be found at trillmag.com/author/donya-rouzbehi
