On Sunday Sept. 4, Villanova’s Campus Activities Team (CAT) hosted its Labor Day Picnic on the Rowan Campus Green. This event was a BBQ filled with plenty of food and drinks, as well as games for students to enjoy. As one of the first events of the year, CAT went all out for this Labor Day picnic and put a lot of time and effort into planning this event. Senior Julia Ramsey is the Director of Annual Programming for CAT, and she discussed how the members came up with the idea for this event. 

“Our main focus with this event was to create a space where students can relax and enjoy the beautiful weather without any of the stresses surrounding finances or planning,” Ramsey said. “We know many have the opportunity to visit family and friends during the long weekend, but for those who remain on campus we wanted to create a fun event that was convenient for our student body to access.” 

One of the best parts of any CAT event is the free food. For a large-scale event like this picnic, CAT needed to ensure that it had enough food to provide for the student body. In order to fulfill this need, CAT works with vendors such as Mission BBQ for its events. 

“Many of the vendors we have worked with previously and have built a great rapport with over the years, ” Ramsey said. “Mission BBQ, who provided food for the Labor Day Picnic, was actually a new partnership and we cannot wait to continue working with them throughout the year. We are so happy that their food was a hit.” 

As CAT plans its events, it is able to cater to diverse parts of the student body. In this instance, CAT had a 21+ section that provided alcoholic beverages, such as seltzers and beers. While this event was not senior specific, it offered something special to those who are over 21. Ramsey spoke to the inclusivity of CAT by explaining how it aims to reach all parts of the Villanova student body in planning its events. 

“We look forward to continuing offering both senior exclusive events and those for any students over 21,” Ramsey said, “However, our goal is to reach all students on campus, so we have weekly events that are open to all and target diverse student interests.” 

For Ramsey, events like these are the perfect opportunity to take a moment to enjoy oneself. Ramsey talks about how she appreciates when students are able to have fun from the events she plans. 

“We always love seeing how happy students are at our events and nothing feels better than knowing an event was well received,” Ramsey said. “For me, I love when students are walking to their dorm or another area of campus and stumble upon the event. They may not have intended to go, but were able to take a few minutes to slow down and enjoy what we offer. We know how busy college life can be, and it is rewarding knowing we can create an outlet where our peers can take a few minutes to relax” 

When looking to the future, CAT will continue to offer a wide array of events. In the planning stage of these events, CAT makes sure to develop its ideas and events as the campus

culture develops. CAT ensures and encourages its flexibility in its ideas and planning in order to cultivate an inclusive environment at Villanova. 

“Some events, such as the Labor Day Picnic, we offer annually,” Ramsey said. “Others are partnerships with various student run organizations which help us ensure we are creating events that are inclusive of our diverse student body. We are always taking suggestions and cannot wait to continue planning throughout the year.” 

Overall, the Labor Day Picnic was a great success. Stay tuned for more by following CAT on Instagram, @villanovacat, and look forward to the rest of the awesome events it will be hosting this semester.