Last Wednesday Main Dining held a pizza contest encouraging student involvement. The winner received 25 Flex dollars and had their pizza featured in Main Dining for one week.  One of the seven contestants in it to win it was President Joseph Sheley.
Each contestant had 10 minutes to create a pizza worthy of winning the grand prize. After the pizza cooked for 10 minutes, they’d be judged, and the winner announced.
Among the contestants were ASI President Miriam Salameh, Public Safety’s “Waldo,” also known as Cameron Jackson (senior, Theatre) and student Kristiana Marshall (senior, Psychology).
The event was MC’ed by California State University, Stanislaus’s own radio station, KCSS 91.9, represented by Nicole Dunlap (junior, Communication Studies), and Darris Bishel (senior, Business Administration).
This event’s purpose was to let the students see who the president of our school is, and to let them interact with him.
“We just think of the president as some untouchable person,” Bishel said. “He likes hanging out, he likes making pizza, and I feel like a lot of students can relate to that.”
Getting the students involved in this one activity could spark interest in others, which is important. Sheley emphasized students need to stay informed as to what is going on around campus.
“I think it went well,” Sheley said. “Anything we can do to try to let people know who we are, [and] let people interact with us.  In a way, it’s another stage of engagement for students. The more engaged students are […] the better they do in school, the faster they graduate, the better memories they walk away with. This, to me, is a part of that.”
Public Safety was also represented at the event. Waldo, their mascot of sorts, was actually the winner of the pizza contest.
New Student Orientation Coordinator and Student Organization Advisor, Alissa Aragon, came in second, and President Sheley came in third. Despite losing, the President’s “No Queso” pizza will still be featured in Main Dining.
“[President Sheley] is very nice, friendly and outgoing,” Marshall said. “A lot of students walked up to him and he had conversations with them. He offered to take pictures with [students] and ask him any question they had regarding the campus… I think [their goal of engaging with the student body] was accomplished.”
The pizza making contest was an enjoyable experience. Don’t forget to stop by Main Dining for “Waldo’s Mafia Madness” pizza and President Sheley’s “No Queso” pizza.