Everybody has to eat.
The simple logic behind the DU Grilling Society(DUGS) has helped the year-old club fire up campus, filling the bellies of DU students and faculty with new and old grilled favorites.
Founded last April by five students with a passion for grilling, DUGS now includes about 15 “grillmasters.” They fire up the grill pretty much anytime anyone asks them to, serving groups as large as 650 people, as they did in the fall for the Homecoming tailgate celebration.
Founding member Jason Lundberg, a junior accounting major, welcomes anyone who has a passion for grilling to join. DUGS is funded by the AUSA Senate and by individual organizations that commission the club.
“We try to offer everything for free,” says Lundberg. “It’s a great opportunity for students to try food they don’t get in dorms.”
They put out a tip jar at events to raise money for charity and hope to plan a 24-hour fast and fast-breaking grill to benefit the Food Bank of the Rockies.
Spring and fall are their busiest seasons, but Lundberg says they also hope to organize a ‘grill and chill’ for the first snow of winter.
Lundberg describes their first event in May 2007, when the organization set up on Driscoll Lawn.
“No one knew we were coming,” he says. “It was beautiful — 75 degrees. People just came together around the grill. I know it’s corny, but everyone has to eat. It brings people together to interact in a way they may not have otherwise.”
Upcoming events include the May Days barbecue on May 19, where the club will serve everything on a stick, and the Senior Departures Week barbecue for undergraduate students at Washington Park on May 30.