By Heather Monahan
Features Editor
Running a club on campus can be difficult. Keeping an organization active and members interested is a struggle club leaders often face.
Luckily, St. Bonaventure holds an annual club and organizational fair that not only allows freshman to join different clubs on campus in one centralized place, but also helps current clubs find new members.
This year’s fair, held Wednesday, Sept. 4 on the Hickey lawn, was a success for both freshmen and the clubs and organizations present.
Ski Team co-captain Nick Turgeon said he felt the event was a success for getting word of his organization out to freshmen.
“All the freshmen and even some upperclassmen were walking around and getting a good look at each table instead of just bopping around trying to get their passport signed or get free stuff,” Turgeon, a senior chemistry major, said. “They seemed genuinely interested and there were a lot of people signing up for email lists.”
Sophomore psychology major and Step Team Captain Nephetimah Wilkes agreed, saying she enjoyed being part of the fair.
“It went well. It gave us the chance to express ourselves and helped us let people know that we’re out here,” she said. “It’s a different experience.”
Co-captain of the Step Team and sophomore education major Nicole Dailey also said recruiting for the team was successful.
“We have more people signed up than we did last year, so that’s good,” Dailey said.
Alex Bulszewicz, a senior finance major and president of Tread Lightly, said the fair provides students and organization leaders the opportunity to get to know each other face-to-face and create connections.
“A lot of people have been interested so far,” she said. “I think the main thing is getting the conversation started and seeing what everyone else is interested in. They get to see and visualize because everyone’s actually here.”
The fair is also convenient because it allows freshmen to see all clubs and organizations at once.
With only a short four years to spend at Bonaventure, the club fair lets freshman quickly decide which organizations they want to be involved with during their time here.
“Having everyone together at one place is very useful for freshmen in that they get to see all the options available to them,” Turgeon said. “They can make the best decision to how they’d like to spend their limited and fleeting time at college in the best way possible.”
The fair was also useful to newer clubs on campus, like the Urban Art Club, which was founded last year.
“I think we had this underground feel last year,” Sean Conklin, assistant curator at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts and adviser of the Urban Art Club, said. “A lot of people heard about us, but didn’t know what we did or who we were, so this definitely helps bring people in.”
Junior sports studies major and Urban Art Club Vice President Gilbert Yankson said he had a great time and liked helping spread the word about the club.
“We had a lot of recruits, so it’s pretty awesome,” he said.
While the club and organizational fair is important to freshmen as they try to find a place to fit in on campus, it’s also a great aid to club and organization leaders who are looking to find their newest members.
