Students, faculty and staff were invited to join the School of Media and Communication at a bonfire Monday night at the communication department’s annual “COMM Bon” event.

The event was hosted at the home of Charlotte Elder, communications instructor and public relations and advertising programs advisor. There, attendees had the opportunity to toast s’mores and converse around a bonfire. 

“There’s a lot of activities on campus that are from an academic perspective,” Elder said. “I had the land and I like hosting people so I thought this was a good way for us to hang out.”

In the past, the event was hosted solely by the communications department. This year, it was organized with the School of Media because of the newly merged School of Media and Communication.

SMC students were encouraged to attend and also invite others from additional areas of study.

Sophia Bowden, freshman biology major, attended the COMM Bon because she is currently taking a communication course with Emily Adkins, who suggested her students attend.

Adkins, an instructor in the department of communications, began attending the event as a WKU student and has continued to do so through her transition into a professor on campus. 

“The fellowship, the community that’s within the department and now the new School of Media and Communication is just beautiful,” Adkins said. “It’s just as friendly as it was when I was a student, and that’s why I keep coming back.”

While the COMM Bon has fundamentally stayed the same, there have been slight adjustments over the years. In the past, the event has featured a fireworks show, roasting a pig and a performance from an improv group.

For the last few years, however, attendees have been able to throw couches, chairs, and planks of wood into the bonfire after finishing their s’mores.

“It’s just fun to do something kind of different. [The COMM Bon] is really just about hanging out, laughing, enjoying and having a good time,” Elder said.

News Reporter Ali Costellow can be reached at [email protected]