The Humanities Involvement Fair was held in the Student Union Ballroom on Wednesday, Feb. 11, showcasing eight different humanities-related organizations on the University of Connecticut campus.
The event was organized by eight-semester human rights student Breanna Bonner, a student mentor at the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute. Bonner, who was at the event representing the institute, saw a need for a Humanities-specific fair due to students in the field feeling underrepresented at UConn.
“The idea essentially was thinking back to my experiences in the past four years and on other things I have heard from other students,” Bonner said. “Sometimes it feels like it’s a very STEM-focused campus.”
Bonner pointed out that the Spring Involvement Fair can be overwhelming for students in the number of tables and opportunities, while career fairs tend to be STEM-oriented.
“I thought that it would be nice for humanities students to have their own involvement fair because there’s so many different things you can be involved in,” Bonner said. “Any one of these tables, there’s a way for you to get involved.”
Bonner also talked about the continuous ways of getting involved with the human rights institute.
“I think it’s just important to keep reminding students that they can always come to the rights institute,” Bonner said. “There’s always events happening.” Bonner added that the institute is holding an event about Latino Migrants in the United States on Thursday.
Tables at the fair included a mix of UConn-sponsored groups, such as the Center for Career Readiness and UConn Enrichment Programs, as well as student-run organizations. One student group in attendance was the UConn Ethics Bowl team.
The team travels to Boston every fall to debate other universities on ethics issues. In recent years, topics have included prisoners selling bodily organs to reduce sentences and the right of the U.S. government to restrict Snapchat, according to group member and fourth-semester linguistics and speech, language and hearing studies student Bianca Hriscu.
“We do some background research and do some research both for and against so we can really understand the case,” said Avi Yarlagadda, another group member and fourth-semester political science and government student.
Across the room, a representative of the Homer Babbidge Library offered fidgets, stickers and other freebies to entice students to come over. Anna Twiddy, a student success and engagement librarian, says that the library has librarians specializing in most subjects to help students with research, including the humanities.
“What’s really key for students to know is that they are open to research consultations,” Twiddy said.
Twiddy says that tabling at events like the Humanities Involvement Fair give library staff the opportunity to get out from behind the desk and meet students out in the community.
“I feel that they are very important ways to have face-to-face interactions with students,” Twiddy said.
Elsewhere around the room, the Green Garden, a mental and environmental awareness club, fittingly offered fruit snacks as they promoted UConn’s first on-campus community garden at the UConn Botanical Conservatory.
The Long River Review, a literary and arts magazine, the Undergraduate Linguistics Society and the UConn Humanities Institute rounded out the organizations represented at the event.