Gathered at tables, graduate students from many disciplines and backgrounds shared food and drinks in the Cartwright Hall atrium Wednesday evening.

Graduate Student Services and the Office of Global Education sponsored the third Graduate Student Social.

The event’s purpose is to offer an on-campus social gathering for grad students, Director of Graduate Studies Kate McAnulty said.

“We don’t have an agenda,” said Kyle Reynolds, Assistant Director of Graduate Student Services. “This is an opportunity for people to vent about grad school.”

Graduate Student Government’s monthly “GradFest,” which usually occurs in different bars in downtown Kent, McAnulty said, was not able to accommodate all graduate students. Some wanted an on-campus social gathering, so the Graduate Student Social was born last spring.

Taking place from 5 to 8 p.m., the event allows students to come right after class or work, McAnulty said. Though no employees of the Office of Global Education attended the event, they did help cover the event’s costs and promoted a good balance of domestic and international students.

Indira Sultanic, fourth-year Translation Studies PhD student and lead singer and guitar player of band Indira & Guppy Jo, provided live background music for most of the event.

“These are the events that grad students need because these kinds of gatherings make people feel like a part of a community,” Sultanic said. She was also the live entertainment for the last two socials.

About 100 grad students attended the free social, capitalizing on the food and drinks offered by dining services. The students attending came to meet with friends, enjoy a free meal and relax.

“It’s a good time for grad students to unwind a little bit,” said Matt Lozykowski, the College of Business’s Graduate Student Senate representative.

Though a late food delivery and later running out of food completely before the event was over did pose a small problem, Reynolds said he was content with the evening.

 “Other than the food ran out and was late, it went fine,” Reynolds said. “But it’s a good problem to have, I suppose, because this has grown a lot over the years since last spring. So next time, we’ll be more prepared.”

Reynolds said the Office of Global Education and Graduate Student Services hopes to have two Graduate Student Socials per semester instead of just one.

Contact Jacob Brown at [email protected].