By Olivia Montes
News Co-Editor
On Monday, Feb. 14 and Tuesday, Feb. 15, several Washington College clubs and organizations came together to participate in the spring Club Fair.
For two days from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., groups such as Equestrian Club, Mixed Martial Arts, Mock Trial, Philosophy Club, and Radio Free George, had tables lined up on the first floor of Hodson Hall and raised awareness of all their respective clubs had to offer to WC students.
According to Director of Student Engagement Antoine Jordan ‘12, he developed the idea to have a second Club Fair for the spring semester with Assistant Dean for Student Engagement and Success Tricia Biles.
“We knew that clubs and organizations on campus would be working to rebuild their membership as we returned to campus as a full student body this past semester,” Jordan said. “This way, clubs that worked to restart over the last semester would be in a better place to participate and recruit new members, while new clubs that also got underway last semester would also have the opportunity to participate in a Club Fair instead of having to wait until the next academic year.”
According to Student Government Association Vice President junior Alex May, after hearing the idea, she and others initially planned to run the fair during the first week of February. However, she said that, due to a recent rise in COVID-19 cases on campus, their plans needed to shift to make sure that clubs and organizations got the representation they needed.
“[While] it was important for clubs to be able to represent themselves and recruit members, it’s also important to keep everyone safe,” May said. “It [was] not like a typical club fair…[but] it still allowed people to come through it if they’re interested in joining any clubs and just getting more involved on campus.”
For many club leaders, this semester’s Club Fair was a chance to not only recruit potential members, but also to interact with those who may not have had the chance to join clubs last fall or the year before.
“I think having the extra Club Fair is really good,” Musicians’ Union President and Sho’Troupe President junior Faithlin Hunter said. “I know a lot of freshmen and sophomores [who] didn’t have the opportunity to join as many clubs as they wanted to last year or last semester, [and] especially because coming back onto campus, it can be overwhelming. This is a new experience for a lot of students, so having that extra opportunity to see what we have on campus and to get more involved is great.”
For InterVarsity Christian Fellowship President sophomore Jude Souazoube, while this was a good opportunity, it is still crucial for many groups to continue being safe amid an ongoing pandemic.
“I think having a club fair during a still-changing COVID-19 pandemic is a double-edged sword,” Souazoube said. “I think a lot of people are traumatized, for lack of a better word, from that year we had in isolation [and we are] really craving normalcy and a sense of security. With that being said, I do think it’s important that in our strive to provide normalcy…[and] adhering to proper guidelines and the health of the people on campus.”
“[The Club Fair] is a good way to get more students involved, especially as we enter an important election year,” WAC Democrats President senior Nicholas Splendoria said. “While hosting a club fair is important, I think considering the uptick in COVID-19 cases last week, we need to be especially careful.”
Many individuals said that they would like to see a club fair for both the fall and spring semester next year and beyond, allowing for established and new clubs alike to “showcase their activity and recruit new members,” according to Jordan.
“I certainly support having a club fair each semester for future academic years,” Jordan said. “It gives our students multiple opportunities throughout the year to learn about all of the clubs and organizations on campus, which is great for students and their co-curricular opportunities.”
“We need more school spirit on campus; I know that WC may not be the same experience for everybody…but being able to have just like a more of a positive, upbeat kind of feel to the campus…is so important,” Black Student Union President junior Jonah Nicholson said. “I want something different [and] to figure out ways that we can do different things and still bring more fun to the campus.”
Photo by Kayla Thornton
Featured Photo Caption: Several Washington College clubs set up tables on the first floor of Hodson Hall for the 2022 spring semester Club Fair to both showcase achievements and recruit members.