BRIDGEWATER, Va. – According to Boomset, an event technology company, tabling is a popular campus or community activity where individuals or organizations set up a table in a public area to promote what they are doing. 

The student life department at Bridgewater College uses many different types of tabling events on campus throughout the year. 

Whitney Smith, Assistant Dean of Students for Engagement, said the main purpose of these tabling events is for students to feel brought into their community and feel like they belong here. 

“By giving them things to do outside of the classroom or building their traditions, that helps them feel tied to this community,” Smith said. 

Recurring tabling events at Bridgewater

Smith said “Mid-Week Mindfulness”, therapy dogs, and desserts with the Dean are all considered tabling events that occur once a week. 

“Mid-Week Mindfulness” is time set apart from class or work to be open and attentive to yourself. There is an activity each week such as painting, bubbles, and coloring that are geared towards helping guide your reflection in a space that is welcoming to each participant. 

“Desserts with the Dean” is an opportunity for students to hang out with the student life staff for casual chats and desserts. 

Smith said therapy dogs gives students the chance to hang out with dogs at the Flory Learning Commons (FLC) patio, offering comfort for students who miss their pets at home or need stress relief.

Scheduling events to reach busy students 

Junior student at Bridgewater College, Tevyn Sowers, attended a tabling event hosted by the Poetry Society of Virginia (PSV) during the annual PSV Spring Festival in Bowman Hall. 

“As soon as you entered Bowman Hall, there was a table set up of people there to greet you and tell you where to go for each individual workshop or presentation or award show,” Sowers said. “It was definitely convenient and helpful,” Sowers said. 

Sowers said he felt connected to campus and to other students as well. “I was able to attend the workshop with a few of my fellow classmates and we got to learn more about manuscripts and sending emails to editors,” said Sowers. 

Sowers also described it to be really interesting to hear other people’s perspectives that were in the workshop. He added that he also heard a lot of interesting information that will hopefully help him for the future.

Another student at Bridgewater, Ian Lane, has stopped for the therapy dogs that are located outside the FLC once a week.

“The dogs, they are right outside of the FLC, so I am around there all the time, so they are right there in a convenient spot,” said Lane. 

Lane also went to a grill-out on Thursday outside of Nininger Hall to celebrate it being NCAA Division III week. 

“I think it is important to have awareness for D3, just making it known that we are athletes too,” Lane said. “I thought it was just kind of cool to be out there with teammates and other people, other players from other teams.” 

Lane added that the grill out made him feel more connected to students at Bridgewater College and the campus because since he has a lot of friends who are student-athletes, it was just another hangout spot for him. 

Student Life goals for tabling events 

Smith said Student Life and Campus Engagement and Activity Team (CEAT) also use tabling events as advertisements for events. 

According to Bridgewater College’s Student Engagement website, the Campus Engagement and Activity Team, known as CEAT, is the college’s programming board that plans and implements weekly activities for students.

 “They are going to do a tabling next week that talks about spring formal, what you can bring into spring formal, the guidelines around spring formal, the time of the event,” Smith said. “It’s just advertising the event, but we’re going to draw you in a way that is fun,” Smith said.

Another way that student life uses tabling events is for recruitment. 

“We do a lot of tabling when recruiting for SOAR mentors, any of our leadership teams, RA’s,” Smith said. “It’s a good time for students to connect with someone who’s in that position to learn more about that position.”

SOAR mentors are trained student leaders who serve as an academic and social mentor for students during their first semester.

According to Events Liker, one of the main advantages of tabling events is the opportunity for direct customer interaction. The people can engage with their customers in real time, answer their questions, address concerns, and provide firsthand information about their product or services. 

To balance and plan these events so they fit accordingly in student day-to-day routines, Smith said the staff at student life looks at the attendance of events to determine when people come, what day of the week, what time of day, when in the semester should they plan for it, and where to put the event.

“We know the K (Kline Campus Center) closes at 2 so it’s silly for us to do something here in the afternoon when other students are headed to the FLC,” Smith said. 

Another way Smith uses tabling events to reach students who have busy schedules is by looking at patterns of students in the K, their routine, where their headspace is, or if they need another “Mid-Week Mindfulness.”

“Anytime we can drop something interactive and engaging in your day, maybe it’s during lunch or maybe it’s on the way to lunch, you’re going to be more receptive to engage with us and do things with us,” Smith said.