Leaders Sell Their Clubs at Fair

More than 300 clubs make their way to College Walk today with one goal—getting first years to sign up for four years of e-mails.

The Office of Student Development and Activities is holding its annual activities fair on College Walk to highlight student-run organizations on campus, ranging from Columbia Students for Christ to Conversio Virium, Columbia’s S&M society. Many of the clubs will look to the multitude of first years because they possess an uncynical vigor that cannot be found on the other side University Writing.

“In my experience, the activities fair was one of the most important days of the year,” Student Governing Board Chair Jonathan Siegel, CC ’08, said, noting that first years are often the most enthusiastic this early in the year.

“If you can really hook them on the first day then you can really have a growing membership of the most engaged and active people.”

Many students find the concentration of booths and club representatives very helpful because they have access to such a wide variety of clubs simultaneously.

“I feel like the club fair is nice because all the clubs are there at one moment and you have to walk by all of them,” said Sarah Weiss, CC ’10, who plays on the Columbia Women’s Ultimate Frisbee team. “I think it’s highly effective.”

While this Friday may prove to be a turning point for many Columbians, working out the logistical details—every recognized group on campus gets a free table courtesy of SDA, while those who are unrecognized must rent tables—has proven a difficult task, given the sheer number of groups and some unforeseen difficulties with e-mail communication between SDA and the participating groups.

For the first time this year, Community Impact groups, which deal with community service, will be spread around the fair, as opposed to being clustered around a single point.

Marit Pearlman Shapiro, CC ’10 and a member of the student executive board of CI, said that she got interested in the organization because of the club fair her freshman year.

“It was a really excellent way to get involved and find out about the organization,” she said. “I think it shaped my Columbia experience.”

Many agree that the striking diversity of campus organizations offers an outlet for some very specific interests.

“The University environment empowers students to strive for exactly what they’re looking for,” said Tailisha Gonzalez, manager of SDA Leadership Programs, who helped organize the fair.

While it can be daunting to find College Walk packed with a much more aggressive crowd than usual, the important thing is to keep an open mind and to sign up for all kinds of clubs, or at least any that come with the prospect of a free meal.

Julie Appel can be reached at julie.appel@columbiaspectator.com.