Clubs Fest showcases diverse campus activities open to students
The Clubs Fest took place at the Robert C. Gillett Student Commons and featured 16 clubs on Jan. 27 and 12 additional clubs on Jan. 28.
Students had the opportunity to chat with club organizers at each table, where they could learn about how to get involved with the club and collect snacks and other freebies. The clubs included cultural clubs, tech clubs, religious clubs and gaming clubs. There was also an Algonquin Students’ Association banner where students could scan a QR code and start the process of creating their own club.
Alli Harris, the student life coordinator for the Algonquin Students’ Association, said Clubs Fest is the best opportunity for those who organize clubs to pitch their ideas to the student body.
“We always do it (Clubs Fest) in the first month of the semester. Basically, clubs can come out and promote and pitch their club events that they have going on, what they’re doing, they want to talk with people,” said Harris.
“So to start a club, you need 20 endorsements, 20 people who think that the club is going to be a good idea.”
Harris also said that after a club gets approved, students go through club training through the SA.
“You can do club events at school. You can book rooms, so there are a lot of good advantages to starting a club,” said Harris. “You can get access to the resources that we have, and we can help you put on events or if you just want to meet and hang out with like-minded people, that’s something you can do.”
Ryan Walsh, who runs the electronics and manufacturing club, is grateful for the support that Algonquin College gives clubs.
“The club coordinator at Algonquin does an awesome job explaining all the opportunities a club can have,” said Walsh. “But it can be difficult to work with the administration for club work because they are concerned about student safety. They do want to work towards helping clubs achieve everything they can for student success.”
Some Algonquin College clubs are available for students who need a space for community and inclusion. Colleges and universities have made extra effort over recent years to introduce clubs and societies for racial, religious and sexual minorities.
This is especially true for the pride club, which is run by Kyle Fraser, one of club’s co-coordinators.
“The more people I talk to, the more I realize that this club is necessary within Algonquin,” said Fraser. “There are so many people who otherwise would feel like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m the only queer person in my program, I have no one to talk to and feel like a weirdo.’ That’s certainly not true.”
Committing to clubs can be a challenge for students who have a long list of assignments to complete, and a schedule filled with classes.
“A lot of the clubs I ended up looking at, the times overlap with my classes and that’s sort of unfortunate,” said Lorelei Merizzi, an Algonquin College student. Merizzi used to be an administrator for the pride club.
Harris believes that the lack of available time for students may also create a challenge to start a club.
“You need to budget your time during the week aside from school. I think the best way to solve that is to have a couple people involved,” said Harris.
