MTSU Students Flock in Droves to ‘Meet Murfreesboro’

Maybe it was the free slices of pizza or hot dogs and chips. Possibly it was the $5 T-shirts, Smoothie King samples, opportunities to join off-campus student ministries or other goodies.

With bright and warm sunshine as a backdrop, Middle Tennessee State University’s two-day “Meet Murfreesboro” Connection Point event drew a crowd in the Student Union Commons.

The annual New Student and Family Programs and Center for Student Involvement and Leadership welcome week event introduces off-campus businesses, restaurants, ministries and more to students and MTSU employees. Meet Murfreesboro will continue from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 30.

“This is cool. It’s nice to have stuff to get involved with on campus,” said Lauren Crass, 18, a freshman interior design major from Knoxville, Tennessee. Having made a purchase from Raider Tees, she added it’s “a very good deal on T-shirts.”

Holding a smoothie sample in her hand, Keisha Burton, 21, a senior from Memphis, Tennessee, and child development and family studies major, said she had just gotten out of class, “but this looks welcoming.”

Insurance companies State Farm and Acceptance, Redstone Federal Credit Union, Bethel Community Church, LYFE (Liberated Young Focused Empowered) Campus Ministry, Freebirds World Burrito and Paul Mitchell were among the businesses spotted under two large tents.

The MTSU Department Fair will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 31.