Kevin Lee did his best to fight off the cold Tuesday by shoving his hands into his jean pockets while winds attacked the free hot chocolate booth he was working for the Office of Orientation.

The booth was set up from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday in the Commemorative Courtyard as part of the Prowl program welcoming new transfer and freshman students to Eastern with hot chocolate and information about winter safety.

“This is our winter Prowl and it’s to help new transfer students and new freshman students become more oriented to the campus,” said Megan Stepp, an orientation coordinator with the office of orientation. “We just wanted to be able to speak to students.”

By 11:30 a.m., a half-hour into Lee’s shift at the booth, he had given away 20 Styrofoam cups of hot chocolate.

Passersby were happy for the warm treat, he said. “Especially on a cold day like this.”

The wind chill index was 25 at 11:30 a.m.

“We want to make the new students feel welcome,” said Lee, a junior psychology major. “We do this every year for the fall, but we never do anything for the spring.”

Jarrod Scherley, a freshman pre-engineering major, stopped for a cup of hot chocolate between classes and said the temperature was just right.

Erin Keefe, a senior mathematics major, yelled, “This is so good!” after taking a sip of her free hot chocolate on her way to the union.

She encouraged others to take a cup exclaiming, “This hot chocolate is amazing,” as they passed.

Stepp said the hot chocolate was a hit and the staffers ran out after only two hours.

“A lot of people were like, ‘Man why don’t you do this all the time?'” Stepp said.

Luckily for them, the booth will be back today with more hot chocolate and is slated to be set up throughout the month.

Organizations on campus like Student Government, the Blue Crew and the Health Education Resource Center will be helping to man the booth in January to distribute more information to students.

“We want the students to know that we’re here for them,” Stepp said.