Students advertise, network, mingle and learn about campus clubs at spring Involvement Fair
Tables lined Trousdale and Alumni Park over the course of the three-day-long event.
By RAKA BHATTACHARYYA, CALEB KIM & ZACHARY WHALEN
This week, USC hosted the Spring 2024 Involvement Fair which provided USC students with the chance to explore the University’s many student-led organizations and recognized student organizations. The fair ran from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week.
Each day of the Involvement Fair featured different RSOs, all eager for the opportunity to showcase a glimpse of their club to prospective members. Club members and officers used a variety of methods — including games, posters and shouting — to compete for the attention of wandering students.
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Jadon Gaertner, a senior majoring in economics as well as mathematics, lured students to the Chess Club booth with a giant chess piece. Gaertner then explained the club to listening students to further pique their interest.
“We hope they join the club, but also we hope that they become interested in chess and become passionate about growing chess at school and creating a fun community, and maybe even being competitive,” said Gaertner.
Once the RSO has captured the attention of a student, members manning the booths explain the unique experience offered by their club in hopes of gaining a new member. Anthony Chen, a sophomore majoring in business administration and representative of the Hawai’i Club, hopes that his club provides a sense of community to Hawaiian students at USC.
“Hawai’i Club is essentially a space for people who are either Native Hawaiian or have any sort of ties to Hawaii,” said Chen. “I hope students find a nice, positive vibe because that’s the kind of vibe that [Hawai’i Club] is going for, just a sense of community away from home.”
Newly admitted freshmen, in particular, enjoyed this week’s Involvement Fair and expressed their surprise at the breadth and size of the event.
“It’s huge. I’ve never seen anything this big before,” said Angela Kim, a newly admitted freshman majoring in architecture. “I didn’t think a school could fit in this many clubs at once.”
Jadon Gaertner, a senior majoring in economics and mathematics, holds up a giant chess piece to attract students to his Chess Club booth. (Marissa Ding / Daily Trojan)
This sentiment was echoed by Robert Alvillar, a newly admitted freshman majoring in biological sciences seeking to connect more closely with his cohort.
“There’s a lot of clubs and a lot of people around, which was a little surprising,” Alvillar said. “I’ve had club fairs at high school, and there’s certainly not as many as this.”
Events such as the Involvement Fair also provide newly admitted students with an opportunity to integrate more into campus life.
“It’s difficult for a lot of students to be able to find places to get involved because, for some reason, no matter how many clubs there are, it’s just hard to connect. If you don’t have the proper starting point, this is definitely a really good starting point,” Kim said.
Although the spring semester Involvement Fair is the second of its kind in the current academic year — the first having been in the fall — RSOs do not view it as any less important. Claire Ernandes, a freshman majoring in cinema as well as media studies and a social chair for UnderSCore, an a cappella group at USC, said that the spring semester fair was ideal for identifying students who missed the first involvement fair or who were otherwise unaware of the opportunities USC has on campus.
“Even more in the spring semester, the Involvement Fair is a way to get people to be aware of our a cappella group,” Ernandes said. “Both [fairs] are important, but most people that want to be in a cappella group would audition in the first semester, so [in the] spring semester, we’re trying to find the people that are interested who weren’t aware of it before.”
The Involvement Fair also gives the RSOs and clubs on campus an equal opportunity to advertise their organizations regardless of their size and funding. Kevyn Calleja — a senior majoring in business administration as well as accounting and the executive director of Improving Dreams, Equality, Access and Succes at USC, a club dedicated to creating a safe space for undocumented students — said that the Involvement Fair was key for IDEAS to be able to connect with interested students.
“The involvement fair is a helpful way to raise awareness of organizations that aren’t for a majority of students on campus — like for minority groups,” Calleja said. “It’s a great opportunity to be out there and meet new people and spread awareness of the issues that we’re fighting for.”
