Community time just got more exciting, and easier on students’ pockets.
The first ‘Mug’s and Minds’ mixer, a new monthly initiative at AAU, brought students and professors together over free pastries, coffee and beer in the Café de Taxis courtyard.
“The 60 cookies and banana bread that were originally quoted by cafe owner Kiran Mulhall were gone in like 7 minutes flat” said Student Council member Conner McMartney, who was manning the stand. “[They] were like sweeping hawks going in for the attack.”
Mulhall supplied extra donuts and croissants to keep the crowd fed.
The gloomy weather didn’t stop students either. Some attended after reading about the event in the AAU newsletter, while others stumbled upon it after class.
“It was great – had some free tea, got warmed up,” said Julia Osterman, “I just wish they had a few more pastries because I wasn’t able to snag any, but other than that, great!”
The courtyard atmosphere was light and chatty, with students mingling with professors over tea and coffee.
“These things are important,” said Mulhall, who added that the events balance out financially with the extra traffic to his café. “When I was in university, we never had anything like this. The fact students are feeling more connected with the university, meeting the professors, having a good experience, that’s important.”
Alex Shawcross, a third-year business student said that after stumbling on the mixer, he decided to stay and get to know some new people.
The next “Mugs and Minds” is scheduled for Oct. 8 during community time. Students can expect free coffee, pastries and hopefully, a bigger cookie quota.
“You know you can’t say no to free.” said Shawcross.
