By Victoria Jimenez

Students living on campus got toasty with Wolfie and Pack Athletics at the s’mores bar social event in Culebra Residence Hall.

The event was held to bring attention and gather support for CSU-Pueblo sports programs from on-campus students.

Haley Robinson, 27, Director of Marketing for Athletics at Colorado State University-Pueblo, said “the purpose is to get more awareness for Pack Athletics for winter and spring sports and to do something fun for the student body.”

Robinson graduated from CSU-Pueblo in 2012 and has many plans for students to get directly involved with the sports programs, such as a hot wing eating competition during halftime at an upcoming CSU-Pueblo home basketball game.

Antoria Mason, a CSU-Pueblo senior and Residence Assistant, said it was important for on-campus residents to have a meaningful experience while living in the residence halls.

“For a lot of people, it’s their first time away from home,” said Mason. “The more involvement you have, the more support systems you can get.”

Mason, a social work major, is familiar with the communication processes between students living on campus. She hopes to improve the quality of events and develop more advertising so students can be more aware of what events are going on.

A goal for Mason is to increase the amount of student attendance at programs, like the s’mores event. “It’s one problem we have getting people to come” said Mason in response to the history of program events, citing issues such as student’s conflicting schedules with jobs and homework. “It has to do a lot with time management,” said Mason.

Joe Yevara, Residence Life Coordinator for on-campus housing, said that he wants students living on campus to “cherish the college experience.” “Give students an experience that will help their education and something they can be proud of,” said Yevara.

Yevara is no stranger to the on-campus lifestyle; he lived on campus when he completed his undergraduate studies at Colorado State University Fort Collins, and later spent a few years working at the University of Arkansas. Yevara wanted to be closer to home back in Colorado, so he came down to Pueblo.

“I like it a lot better because it’s a lot friendlier,” said Yevara when comparing the two different sized universities. Yevara emphasized that students on a smaller campus like CSU-Pueblo can be focused on and helped more than a huge student body at once.

Yevara said he was excited for “new, fresh techniques to enhance the experience on campus” for students living in the residence halls.

Valentina Pons, 19, freshman, said she has met many new people from living on campus. Despite living in a hall with many busy student athletes, Pons said she has fared well for her first year of college. “Being on my own, it was rough at the beginning,” Pons said. Pons said living on campus allowed her to “experience new things” and “meet new people.”

A full schedule of CSU-Pueblo sporting events can be found online under the ‘Athletics’ tab on the school’s home page.