BY ELIZABETH EGAN, STAFF WRITER
There is a new club making its way onto campus. I was going to introduce them with a joke…but there was not enough demand because the opportunity cost was just too high. New to the St. Bonaventure University campus is the Economics Club.
The group started out as an economic reading group with Dr. Posmanick, assistant professor of finance. They would gather every couple of weeks to discuss a chosen reading based on some sort of economic concept. The group started while on-campus activities were still largely limited due to Covid, so all of these early meetings took place on Zoom.
Led by Dan Schiffhauer, today the group meets weekly, in person and is working to become an official club. The club is student led and makes an effort to discuss topics that will interest all members.
Schiffhauer said, “We talk about economic concepts that we find interesting and want to share about.”
One thing the club does is allow every member to choose their own topic and present it during their weekly meetings. This is a fun and effective way for members to become educated on a wide range of economic topics and issues, while also making sure every member is engaged with the content they are covering.
“I hope to get people interested in economics as a whole,” said Schiffhauer .
This is especially important because the university is trying to get economics approved as a new major. This means assessing the interest in economics amongst the campus community is an effective way to determine if it should be a major.
While the student-led discussions make up a significant portion of what the club does, they are also not shy about going after guest speakers. Right now, they are working to get the CEO of Evans Bank to speak. Through the connections of a club member, they might be getting the first female president of Costa Rica who now teaches in the United States at Georgetown University. Anyone even remotely interested in economics or business as a whole will not want to miss these speakers.
Right now, the club is small but mighty. They are currently working on erasing the first part of that description. In the coming weeks they will be going all out to recruit new members. Be on the lookout for signs around campus, notice board announcements and tables set up in Swan, where current club members will be around to answer any questions and provide a more comprehensive view of what the club has to offer.
When asked his goals for the club Schiffhauer said, “My highest goal is to make it a good club and everything else will follow.” Sometimes the simplest of goals can be the most effective to set a group up for success.
So anyone who is looking to learn more or express their interests about economics, or anyone looking to become more involved on campus and join a group of lovely people for a weekly discussion, go check out this newly emerging club. They meet every Thursday at 6:30 in Swan, room 107. Feel free to just show up or contact Schiffhauer at schiffdj20@bonaventure.edu with any questions.
