The 2021 COMM Week Stranger Games, hosted by the West Texas A&M University Media Communication Program, had their opener event on late Monday afternoon in the Sybil B. Harrington Fine Arts Complex Recital Hall.

The kickoff sub series, Fill With Hope, showcased student’s projects, student organizations and the first showing of the Maroon Productions and Thunder Media documentary, Fill With Hope. Fill With Hope provides Canyon Independent School District (CISD) students facing food insecurity with meals over the weekend.

This event “[gives] people who maybe want to get on board with all the different organizations or they want to try a different organization that they have never done,” said Mallory Grimm, senior public relations and advertising major, before the start of the event.

A culmination of 12 different organizations spoke about their work and what they participate in to help give students attending more information about the groups on campus.

Lambda Pi Eta, Maroon Productions, The Prairie News, WT Forensics, Buffalo Advertising, WT Leadership, KWTS 91.1, Study Abroad: Cape Town, Eternal Flame, National Electronic Media Association, 1910 PR and Thunder Media were given the chance to speak to students present at the kickoff event. If you would be interested in any of these organizations, COMM Week will be occurring the rest of the week with the final event on Friday.

“You’re kind of getting exclusive work because this hasn’t gone live yet,” said Dane Glenn, Director of Maroon Productions, when introducing the documentary.

Maroon Productions and Thunder Media were working on the 15 minute long documentary about the struggles that a third of all families in CISD face. Fill With Hope, formerly known as Snack Pak 4 Kids, discreetly places food items in students’ backpacks located out in the hallways so that students who come from struggling families can have food products throughout the weekend. This documentary was produced and edited in the Department of Communication, similar to the student media products produced for competitions around the country.

“We’re really trying to just make it as fun as possible for everyone,” Grimm said when discussing the events that occur throughout the week. “So giving away prizes, we have the buffalo scavenger hunt throughout the week, where you’ll see updates on our Facebook and Instagram page of where you can find the little squishy buffaloes.”

The later events are open to anyone who might have any interest in attending. The WTAMU Department of Communication Hall of Fame is going to be on zoom free for the first time. This event will be honoring five highly respected women in the WTAMU Department of Communication.