Despite only having 2,498 undergraduate students, Trinity’s Office of Student Engagement and Development (SED) offers numerous activities for Tigers to participate in. One of those activities, however, has been missing from campus since earlier this semester: Milk ‘n Cookies. Though SED removed the event for cost and inaccessibility, the office plans to bring it back this semester with a much-renovated comeback.
Milk ‘n Cookies began over a decade ago, taking place during the academic year in the Tigers Den on most Thursdays at 3:30 pm. According to Benjamin Williams, associate dean of students, these programs are intended to encourage students to take a break, relax and make some connections to resources or other students.
“Having attended many of them as I was getting onboarded to Trinity, there were always cookies left, student traffic was slow and it seemed that there were challenges, whether that be accessing the Tiger’s Den or the timing of the program,” Williams wrote in an email.
Williams said the event was on the decline due to attendance and lack of accessibility. To target this, Williams plans on changing how the event itself functions with SED to cater to more people.
“With rising costs of hosting programs and limited programming dollars, we decided to spend time assessing how we can enhance Nacho Hour and repurpose the funding for Milk ‘n Cookies to meet the intent in some new ways,” Williams wrote.
Is Milk ‘n Cookies gone for good?
While Milk ‘n Cookies has been absent so far this semester, Williams ruled out the event going away. “The program will continue in a new way along with some other efforts coming from SED,” Williams wrote. Jarvis Clark, director of student engagement, said that he isn’t sure if the event will come back.
How do the students feel?
Emma Norris, first-year biochemistry and molecular biology major, said she first attended the event during Tiger Takeoff, where she experienced a preview of what life at Trinity would look like over the summer. She said that the event provided her with networking opportunities as a first-year student new to campus.
“I think that taking Milk ‘n Cookies away is dumb, and it is unfair that it takes away the tradition from all of the first and incoming students,” Norris said. “I got to know some alums, and it became a bonding moment.”
Sofia McGrath, junior neuroscience major, said she was disappointed that the event was absent this semester, especially due to the social bonds it created. Students like Norris and McGrath both expressed disapointment about the absence of the event, and said they would like it back.
Is Milk ‘n Cookies important?
Norris said these programs were important, especially for students coming into Trinity.
“Even though it is something small, it takes away from the community aspect of the school,” Norris said.
For McGrath and Norris, having these events, especially around midterms and finals, provides a social and mental break. Norris said having these events build communities when students are struggling and are looking for support.
What’s happening in the future?
Williams wrote that his goal is to try different tactics to host the event regularly, such as changing schedules and sponsors. Instead of it being weekly, the event will depend on adjustments to the budget. He said he hopes to get feedback from students and see what works out in the long run.
“We are doing an ‘enhanced’ Milk n’ Cookies several times a semester, where we will partner with companies like Insomnia Cookies and Crumbl to bring some joy, and find other ways to invest,” Williams wrote.
Oct. 4 update: A Milk ‘n Cookies event is Oct. 9 at 11 a.m. in Coates Student Center, Williams wrote over email. The event will promote the Healthy Minds Survey.
