The low, resonating sound of oriental drums filled the newly constructed Student Union, Wednesday, made it's debut for the semi-annual Student Involvement Fair. Freshmen and upper-classmen alike floated around the aisles bombarded with flyers, poster displays and e-mail sign-up lists to create a bustling marketplace of students and organizations.
The student involvement fair was organized by the Department of Campus Activities in conjunction with the involvement office. The objective: to give students the opportunity to see all the activities and organizations that are available in a fun way, according to Joseph Briody, associate director of leadership development.
This semester, the involvement fair ballooned, Briody said, in part, due to the expansion of the Student Union.
"There are approximately 210 organizations tabling this year, which is almost a 33 percent increase over last year," Briody said,."The addition has given us that much more capacity. We can fit in almost 100 more groups due to the opening of the ballroom and we expect it to continue to grow over the following years."
Briody, who was pleased with the successful turn out, estimated that over 3,000 students made an appearance at the event between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Briody and leaders alike attribute the success and the grandieur of this semester's fair to the effort put in, not only fro the involvement office, but from student volunteers such as well.
"The office has been working on this event since the summer time," Briody said. "The bigger it gets, the more complex it is."
Connie Cabello, a 5th-semester HDFS major who helped plan the fair, assign tables and performance schedules, has been involved with the organization of the event since the beginning of the year. Cabello said, she became involved with the production of the fair through working in the Student Involvement Office. She believes the product was a complete success.
"I really wasn't expecting this many people showing up," Cabello said. "This one turned out really well."
Cabello attributes the success of the event to the volunteers, from staff members of the involvement office, as well as the UConn men's rugby team.
"It was a lot of work, but we had a solid team in the involvement office and it seems like everyone is happy," Cabello said.
One of the first-time involvement fair attendees, Dana Whalen, a 1st-semester exploratory major, browsed around with an open mind to what may spark her interest. Whalen commented on the high activity that surrounded her. "It's really crazy," Whalen said, "There are so many people, and so many things to look at."
David Constant, a 5th-semester journalism major also noticed the high amount of student traffic, noting the increase of people filing in and out of the rooms.
"My freshmen year I remember it being real busy ... and this year maxes that," Constant said.
On the other end of the spectrum, the tablers urged students to sign up for mailing lists or even to grab a bumper sticker. Each organization competed against the next to win the attention of open-minded students.
Whitney Jefferson, a 7th-semester communications major and the general manager of UCTV hoped to gain as many signatures on the sign-up sheet for her organization as possible.
"It's a big rebuilding year ... the Student Involvement Fair is a big marketing tool."
Its table neighbor, WHUS, UConn's radio station, looked at the fair as more of a vehicle to get their name out versus expecting students to commit to their program.
"It's great for exposure," said Jacqueline Marsiglia, a 7th-semester communications and journalism major."We love to have people on our mailing list. But we gain our staff members more through word of mouth."
On the other hand, the women's rugby team looks at the student involvement fair as the perfect tool to gain new players. Their list boasted 50 plus halfway through the night.
"This is a major way of recruiting people, " Alyssa Ososki, a 5th-semester nursing major and women's rugby player said, " seventy-five percent of the new players are recruited from the involvement fair, while the other 25 percent come from flyers around campus."
Nicole Ruospo, a 5th-semester English major tabled at the Relay for Life section was confident of the positive turn out for student sign-ups.
"We usually have a really good turnout for our event," Ruospo said, "It's a cause that affects all of us. As a result of that, students are more apt to dedicate their time."
