Jayden Gibson & Maurion Jamison
palmettoreport@gmail.com

(Rock Hill, S.C.) — Some students at Winthrop University say they’ve noticed an improvement in the quality of the student produced events on campus over the last year, which has helped to increase attendance.

The DiGiorgio Student Union (or DSU) is the student group responsible for planning many events on campus.

“What is DSU,” said John Kirk, the director of campus programming. “DSU is you. It’s the students here at Winthrop that bring the parties and the gigs to Digs. It brings everything to Winthrop to make sure people don’t leave.”

Kirk, who started in his position last summer, said the group aims to create and plan events that attract students in a friendly environment.

“We always want to make sure all students feel welcome in everything that we do here,” Kirk said.

Over the last year, the group has hosted events including laser tag, movie night, a petting zoo and a celebration of the Lunar New Year.

These and other events have drawn positive feedback from students.

“From this year compared to last year, I noticed how the DSU organization as a whole has had a significant impact on student engagement. I noticed they have been throwing more consistent events,” said Kamari Ellis, a senior biology major.

Kirk said he thinks DSU can help build connections on campus.

“Winthrop in itself when I came here for an internship a year ago made me feel like part of a family…but DSU itself is a family,” he said.

“I remember meeting a lot of the students last summer and just being a part of a tight-knit group that made me feel like I wanted to be a part of something else.”

Students who are interested in getting involved with DSU can visit the group in its office in DiGiorgio 212, where students can often be seen hanging out and talking, listening to music or even dancing together.

* Editor’s note: Some of the reporting for this story was originally done during the fall 2025 semester.