CCNY’s Spring Activities Fair

Students have a lot to juggle in their daily lives. School takes up alot of time and on top of that, many students work on the side. Finding a balance between school and work is hard enough. However, students must also find time to maintain a social life. We as humans are social creatures. Even the most introverted of people enjoy being social with a small group of friends. In high school and college, one way to improve your social life is by doing extracurricular activities. These activities often involve joining a club or joining a sports team. There are many advantages participating in an extracurricular activity. Not only does it provide you with a chance to meet new people, but it also helps in building skills. For example, a student who takes part in his/her school’s student government will be able to look back on the experience and use whatever they learned to their advantage in the future. Extracurriculars are also great ways to get involved with the school, which could potentially open up even more opportunities in the future. However, how does someone join a club? Of course you can always just ask around and find out when a certain club meets, but what if you want to expose yourself to a variety of clubs all at once? In these cases, club fairs are the best option.

The City College of New York held it’s Spring Activities fair on Thursday, February 7th. Because City College is a big school with an even bigger student body, it can be hard for students, especially freshmen, to get involved with groups at the school. At this event held by the Department of Student Life and Leadership Development, students were given the chance to explore a variety of clubs and organizations at the school in order to perhaps join one of them. This event took place in the Great Hall of the Shepard Hall. The Great Hall is located on the second floor of the Shepard Hall. In case anyone was unsure of where to go, balloons were placed in the building which, if followed, would lead to the Great Hall. The hall itself is very reminiscent of the interior of a catholic church. In the back, a large painting called “The Graduate” can be seen. The hall is also very spacious and was able to accomodate a large selection of clubs as well as a large amount of students. Observations were made at the event to see how students interacted with club organizers and vice-versa.

The Spring Activities fair was set to begin at noon on February 7th. When arriving at the Great Hall, there was a long line outside the entrance. The line was only growing longer as time passed on. While waiting on the line, music could be heard from inside the hall. Around 15 minutes was spent on the line until I could enter. For the event, students had the option of RSVPing beforehand. By doing so, they would be able to get their ticket/wristband quicker. As for those who did not, they had to wait in a separate line. I did not RSVP, but the security guard at the door told me to go to the RSVP table. I had to explain to the guy at the table that I was told to come here instead of waiting on line. Fortunately, they guy registered my name in and gave me a ticket. At the table where students register, free candy was also given as well as pamphlets. This was probably done as a way of saying thanks for coming to the event.

As I started to walk around, I noticed a long line of students. This line was for the free food that was being given out. Although the food isn’t the main reason the event is being held, it still acted as a way to attract students to attend and stay at the event. I noticed that many students were gathering and forming their way into the line. If they weren’t on the line for food, students were waiting on the side for friends to arrive. After a minute or two of waiting on the food line, an announcement was made to let attendees know that a second food table was now open. There was now a second food line, and many students took advantage of the opportunity and made their way over to the second food line. The line moved relatively quickly. Once you grabbed a plate, you could choose what food you wanted. The selection wasn’t too extravagant. On the table there were three types of wraps, cookies, brownies, chicken strips, a small bags of chips. The wraps themselves were small students were given the option between ham and cheese, tuna, and vegetarian. Despite being a simple selection of foods, it tasted very good. The food tables had nice presentation, as did all the other tables showcasing the various clubs.

In an event where there are many clubs trying to recruit new members, it would be beneficial to attract attention from as many attendees as possible. This could be seen as you walk by the various tables. Many clubs used poster boards with bright colors to draw attention. One club in particular used actual lights on a poster board to attract students. I thought this was a unique way to attract students. Towards the back of the hall on top of a couple of steps, there was a DJ playing music for the event. The music was very upbeat and lively and served to provide a fun atmosphere. This was likely done to make the event feel more social and to make the students feel good.

The Spring Activities Fair was held in order to expose students to the various clubs and organizations that the school has to offer. Each group showcasing at the event had to compete with other groups to attract students to their table. This can be seen when examining the various poster boards that each group had and how each one tried to stand out more than the others. The event itself was enjoyable. Not only was it a great place to learn about new clubs, but it was a also a great place to unwind from schoolwork and socialize. The food and music helped with this aspect as it provided a fun and social environment for the attendees. This event was great and is a great way to show just how many ways there are to get involved with a group at school.