You don’t have to be bored living in a residence hall. There is plenty to do—just look to the Programming and Activities Committee at each residence hall.

PAC and its members plan fund raisers and social events for residence halls. During their weekly meetings, members brainstorm ideas for upcoming activities, set up committees to handle preparations, prepare a tentative calendar and plan goals for the upcoming weeks.

Some of the recently proposed projects for Lincoln Hall are: a weekend fair for little siblings, Easter basket sales, an indoor beach party and survival kits filled with food, notes and school tools for finals week.

There also is a project called “bid for a bachelor.” Women bid for the men, who in turn pay for a date. The proceeds go to United Way.

Each idea is assigned to a PAC member, who then goes to work obtaining information necessary to plan and present the project to the group and the university.

As soon as PAC gathers the necessary price lists and information, their next step is to find funding for the project. The main source of money is usually from fundraisers.

If the treasury cannot cover the cost, the next option is to ask the hall cuncil for funds, which are provided by students’ fees.

If these two sources fail, PAC occasionally will ask the Campus Activities Board for funds for specific types of activities that are open to more than just one residence hall, or even the entire campus. Once the funds become available, the idea must be approved by the university. When approved, the PAC members prepare to execute their plan with set up crews and members to work shifts for sales or surveys.

Each resident hall has its own branch of PAC, complete with a president, adviser and executive board. More than one PAC group can plan a project and combine their ideas and efforts to provide larger residence hall activities, or all campus events. Regardless of location, all PACs try to provide activities residents want and are interested in.

“PAC was formed to make life in residence halls more enjoyable, exciting, varied and to add some type of social outlet in order to break up study time,” said Peggy Schweiger, PAC advisor for Lincoln Hall. “It really helps people work in a group. Members learn their strengths and weaknesses, as well as skills on working with people, being organized and making use of university resources available to them.”

The committee also does community projects such as adopt a grandparent, and visits hospitals to cheer up patients.

“Some of the best projects in the past were those with food sales. Also, floor wars: resident floors competing against each other at various games, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and other projects that allowed for personal interaction,” Schweiger said.

Lincoln Hall President Melissa McDonald said, “PAC is a bunch of friends working together, and we learn to work as a group. Working with other people has been a great benefit to me.”

Want to get involved? “There is room for more members, and anyone is welcome. PAC’s goal right now is to increase its membership,” Schweiger said.

Interested people should contact their senior staff.