UConn’s clubs and organizations gathered on Fairfield Way for Fall 2019 Involvement Fair. File Photo/The Daily Campus
Amongst the hustle and bustle on Fairfield Way Monday afternoon, both new and returning students found clubs and organizations to fit their fancies. From brand-new clubs like the Cooking Club to larger, well-known organizations like PIRG and SUBOG, the Fall Involvement Fair allowed students to find a group that allowed them to have fun, serve their community, connect with people in their major and much more.
Clubs and organizations were, as always, divided into different sections based on their purpose. The Involvement Fair encompassed clubs focused on academics, health, religion, politics, activism, service and culture. Additionally, club sports, campus media, governance organizations and various university programs had tables.
Many of the freshmen who attended the event were glad they came.
First-semester students Angelo Santos, a finance and pre-dental major, and Ben Manoli, an environmental engineering major, came to the fair together and signed up for some of the same clubs. The two mentioned Outing Club, Community Outreach and Skydiving Club as especially interesting.
“I definitely want to get more involved,” Santos said, mentioning that he joined the Filipino American Student Association.
First-semester chemical engineering major Alliana Snead said the fair was definitely worth attending.
“I really want to join the club sailing team,” Snead said. “And I really liked the Outing Club, so like outdoors activities, and then I actually discovered a bunch of clubs in my major.”
Snead also expressed surprise at the scale of the fair and confusion as to how to navigate through all the tables and people.
“It’s huge. I thought it was going to end right here,” Snead said, gesturing to the area in front of the library.
Not only was the fair a success for new students but executive board members of several clubs stated they’d gotten new recruits and more exposure for their clubs.
“We’re getting a lot of new recruits than last year,” Carolyn Bayarsaihan, a third-semester linguistics/psychology major and member of the Queer Collective e-board, said.
Physics Club president and seventh-semester physics major Tyler Metivier noted how successful his club was in recruiting students from across different majors.
“We’ve had a lot of interested new faces,” Metivier said. “Just because the Physics Club is so limited to our own department, the Involvement Fair just gets so much more exposure.”
Metivier also noted how he and his friends from the club were enjoying recruiting new members at the fair. The club’s table had a few set-ups relating to different aspects of physics, and Metivier and his friends were glad to allow fairgoers to look through their spectrographs and use a Newton’s cradle.
The activities and displays at various tables made for positive interactions between current club members and prospective recruits. Some tables like SUBOG and USG had wheels that students could spin to win a prize such as a water bottle, phone wallet or mason jar. Other clubs handed out items that outside companies wanted their clubs to promote. Cooking Club gave away some Asian snacks and candies, and Her Campus members handed out samples of leave-in hair treatments.
No matter whether a student walked away from the Involvement Fair with a free pen or just a piece of paper, many students walked away with the excitement of joining a new club.
Stephanie Santillo is a staff writer for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at stephanie.santillo@uconn.edu.