Psi Chi is taking campus tours to the next level.
From 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, the psychology honorary will take students on hourlong rides around campus on Segway scooters.
“Students can expect, when they’re coming in and out of class, to see Chief Rogers on a Segway or Dr. McArthur riding around,” senior Katie Norton, Psi Chi president, said. “I think it’ll be fun because we tried to pull from the faculty and students so it’ll be a nice mix.”
Setup for the event will begin at 10 a.m., with the first rides beginning at 11 a.m. The four participants in each hourlong time slot will get a 15-minute safety training course, a 20-minute tour ride around campus, and finish with a 10-minute agility course on the Quad.
“Right now, we have four students going at one time, but, if we have enough feedback from students that they still want to go, but they can’t go at certain times, then we’re looking at renting more Segways so we can have everyone go when they want to go,” Norton said.
The Segways will be provided by My Segway Adventures, a company in Plymouth, Michigan, that helps groups have enjoyable fundraisers. The rides are $20, as compared to a Segway tour of Washington, D.C., starting at around $70, and a portion of the proceeds will go to Psi Chi funding for events.
“Our main goal is to have fun and to get our name out there with a positive experience for students to relax,” Norton said. “We are having a fundraiser, but our main goal is the capital F-U-N-raiser and to get our name out there for students. Hopefully, if it goes well, we’re going to try to do it more than this semester if it has a positive impact on campus.”
Kari McArthur, associate professor of psychology and Psi Chi’s faculty adviser, echoed Norton’s sentiment.
“We’re trying to get the word out about what Psi Chi is all about,” McArthur said. “We wanted to a get a positive event out there on campus.”
While spending some time in Washington, D.C., McArthur took a Segway tour. She enjoyed the tour, and she had the idea to bring the joy to Hillsdale.
“I think the Segway tours are a good way to get more exposure for Psi Chi. We are a small honorary, and I hope that this will help people remember us,” senior Psi Chi member Ayla Meyer said.
Psi Chi currently has 16 members. While they hold many campus-wide events, they also do some events exclusively for Psi Chi members.
One of the events is psychology tutoring, which Norton said she is excited for the group to bring back this year.
After the Segways are shut down and campus tours return to walking tours, Psi Chi will be busy planning for their next campus-wide event.
“Our next event for campus is at the end of October,” Norton said.
Although Norton was not able to announce the actual event, she indicated it will be “really fun.”
“It’ll be an event that pulls from every group on campus if they want to join, and I think it’ll be held in the evening. It’ll be a competition of sorts,” she said.
