Tuesday, October 13, 2009
PRINCESS ANNE, MD-University of Maryland Eastern Shore students, faculty and staff will observe on Thursday, October 15, its own creation Friendship Day. This is a day designed to ensure that students, particularly freshmen, are happy and comfortable on campus.
UMES started to observe Friendship Day, the brainchild of President Thelma B. Thompson, in 2003 after she read that suicide rates were rising among college students. Inspired by the friendships she enjoys with a diverse group of people, Thompson has made the event an annual one.
“I could not have done it alone,” said Thompson. “I handed the Friendship initiative to Mrs. Suzanne Street, Mrs. Deirdra Johnson, and the Student Life and Enrollment Management Division and each year, we have done well in this outreach effort to our students.”
This year, the Student Services Center will be buzzing with giveaways, music and poems from noon to 2 p.m. Throughout the day, members of the campus community will find friendship grams posted at www.umes.edu.
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Suzanne Waters Street, director, UMES Office of Public Relations, 410-621-2355, sstreet@umes.edu.
