They seem more human. As a student, you only see them in the classroom. But by seeing a professor with his family or hearing him talk about what it's like on the 'other side,' it's really insightful. We're learning what faculty can do well and what kinds of events will attract students. My own personal bias is that faculty-student interaction works best when there are real tasks to do, and it works least well at purely social occasions.
People stand around with each other and wonder how to talk to the other side.
First-date awkwardness aside, most have managed to bridge the gap. And it percolates through the whole floor, which is very neat. I, like most people, enjoy getting outside the sphere of usual activities. So this, to me, is a nice program in terms of being more integrated on campus. Personally, I'd never even been to the South 40 before.