On Sept. 7, the Associated Students of Glendale Community College kicked off the semester with a barbecue in Plaza Vaquero that featured free food, games and music.

The event, which took place between noon and 2 p.m., was a time for students to relax and to take their minds off the pressures of starting new classes. On a mostly cloudy day, many students came for the free hot dogs, which were served by members of the student body, but then they stayed for the games and music. The entertainment was plentiful.

The Verdugo Fire Academy, which hosted its own booth, volunteered to help ASGCC members by grilling hot dogs and handing out flyers to promote the event.

Byron and Claire Delto, GCC music teachers, played lounge music on the grassy field. They performed renditions of songs such as “The Girl from Ipanema” and “Route 66.” The music matched the mellow atmosphere of that cloudy day.

After the music performance, there was a game of musical chairs. The student body provided a DJ with his own sound system, who played music during the game. Members of ASGCC participated, as well as non-members. A football player named “Crutch” won the first game, as he and another student fought over the last chair.

Sareen Tawilian, senator of campus organizations, said, “The point of the event was to bring everyone together and to welcome them to the new school year.”

Yna Mokhtarians, vice president of activities, said, “We did it to increase student involvement, and the turnout is better than we expected.”

Some of the upcoming ASGCC sponsored events are an athletics pep rally on Sept. 23, as well as U.S. Constitution Day Thursday. Members of the student body will be passing out free copies of the constitution and setting up a voter registration table
that day.