On March 15, Campus Activities, DePauw Student Government and The Paw Boba and Snacks collaborated to host Midterm Munchies. Half an hour before the event, the Union Building living room was already packed with students and staff awaiting the catering from No. 1 Chinese Restaurant and The Paw Boba and Snacks. There was a variety of food, including orange chicken, chicken lo mein, shrimp cashews, crab rangoon, egg rolls with sweet and sour sauce and rice.
Melia Lewis ‘27, vice president of academic life and Campus Activities intern, shared, “Things can get a little hard at times, so I created this event to bring the people together and help the community. Everyone bonds really well with food. It’s a very stressful time for students with midterms, since DePauw is a rigorous school. Why not bring everyone together for some free Chinese food? I wanted to incorporate and support local businesses.” Lewis added, “My favorite part of the event was seeing so many people coming to our event. We ran out [of food] in around an hour and 30 minutes. It made me so happy to see everyone enjoying the food.”
Campus Activities set up a mental health de-stressor tabling with activities such as scratch art, Legos, stress balls, pop-it keychains and kinetic sand. The managers of the tabling, Natalie Cassady ‘26 and Josie Morrison ‘27, shared that Campus Activities Coordinator Kendall Johnson reached out to them to plan and bring toys for the event. Cassady said that her favorite activity was the kinetic sand because she enjoyed watching people make different shapes. Morrison said her favorite was the scratch art because she got to practice her cursive writing skills.
Evy Ngo ’25, owner of The Paw Boba and Snacks, provided the delicious boba for this event. She started this business after placing third at the McDermond Center Pitch Competition during her sophomore year. Ngo said, “It was a fun idea that started as a dare from my friends, and now it is my full-time job. Back then, I was broke and just wanted to earn some money, but after giving out some free samples to collect data, I saw that people around campus loved it.”
She explained that she had five consecutive events that weekend for different clubs, including the Posse Scholars and the DePauw Film Club. Ngo started the week by making her homemade sauce, using no preservatives, corn syrup or skim milk. Lastly, she shared that her favorite part of the event was “seeing people lining up for my product. It’s the best compliment ever! I truly feel it’s worth it. I would love to come back next year.”
Overall, the tabling was a wonderful way for students to de-stress from the pressures and anxiety of midterms, relax and have fun with their friends.
