ALL ARE INVITED TO BREAK FOR COFFEE AND CONVERSATION

Generations of Bryn Mawr alumnae who remember Coffee Hour as an important morning ritual would surely smile on senior Alice Goff's attempt to revive it. Goff, with funding from the Dean's Office, has arranged a trial run of the nosh-and-dish gathering this Friday, Jan. 23, from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. in Thomas Great Hall. Doughnuts, hot drinks and conversation will be free to everyone on campus. If turnout is good, Goff says, she aims to find a steady source of funding to make it a weekly event.

"The idea to resurrect coffee hour came about last semester when the trustees invited students to speak with them," Goff says. A group of rising seniors who had signed up to meet with the trustees held a meeting beforehand to discuss ways to make the Bryn Mawr community stronger and improve campus life. We came up with a list of things we could do on our own, without help from the trustees, and I promised to pursue coffee hour. I'm getting help from the Dean's Office to get the ball rolling."

Goff says that she hopes bringing Coffee Hour back to its original location in the Great Hall will help it thrive. "I think previous attempts to revive it in the Campus Center weren't very successful because people see the Campus Center as a place where you can run various errands, but not as a place to come and stay, so they just grabbed a doughnut on the way to something else. The goal is for people to take a little time to talk to each other."

Goff will be collecting suggestions from students, faculty and staff about how to give Coffee Hour more drawing power. "What's going to make you want to be there?" she asks. She'll offer a suggestion box and, of course, conversation on the topic.

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