Gabriel Torres 

Contributing Writer 

The Student Government Association has worked to knock the cobwebs off students and get the campus lively again. 

While this year’s Involvement Fair did attract a good number of students, many club leaders believe that it fails in comparison to previous Involvement Fairs held in the past. 

“Everyone is kept in their rooms,” says SGA President, Andrea Jackson.  

She believed that crowd turnout and participation are two different things.  

While students were at the fair, a majority won’t even consider joining a club. 

“Students are more eager to join clubs and get involved as long as things are done safely,” said Saenz, SGA Sen. and ECAC Chair. 

He predicted the fair would be a huge success and that campus life and clubs would return to normal.  

However, both of them agree that students should get involved or they will regret being in their rooms their entire college experience.  

“I encourage all my friends to get involved with something you are passionate about,” said Jackson. 

This year’s Involvement Fair was held in its usual spot on the Quad but was instead split up over three days.  

Between 70 to 80 clubs attended over the three-day period; ranging from already established clubs like the Marine Science Club to newcomers such as the Chess Club. 

“Safety comes first,” said Saenz when asked about the three-day format.  

Previous Involvement Fairs would be held all on one day with the entire Quad being flooded with posters, activities and banners from each club.  

A format like this would attract a massive crowd, breaching campus safety protocols. 

For safety reasons, the SGA spread the fair over three days to prevent such a large crowd from forming and asked that only two members from each club attend a station.  

Masks were highly encouraged outdoors. 

For many clubs, the Involvement Fair was supposed to give aid to clubs who suffered during the pandemic.  

Most clubs and associations saw struggles relating to adapt into online and found it difficult to maintain the attention of their members. 

The Campus Rec & Wellness center is but one of many clubs and organizations that struggled during quarantine.  

As a face-to-face operation, they relied heavily on social media to post updates, hold zoom workouts and give out general wellness tips to combat many of the problems students faced over the pandemic.  

After being kept in their rooms for over a year and a half, forced to comply with strict social distancing guidelines, students have finally returned to on-campus learning and living.  

Now that students are back on campus, the Involvement Fair serves as a necessary component for the Rec & Wellness center to rebuild what they had lost a year prior. 

For some clubs, it turned out to be the opposite.  

The Arts Association Club, they were one of the few to actually strive during the lockdown.  

“We were actually one of the most successful clubs online,” said Emma Brooks, Secretary of Arts Association Club.  

Using the lockdown to their advantage, the Art Association Club managed to hold interesting contests and events that anyone could participate in.  

They are on a roll and looked to hit the ground running during this Involvement Fair and keep up the pace they had last year. 

This year’s Involvement Fair was different from previous ones and was given the tough task of reintroducing students to campus life and clubs.  

Will next year’s Involvement Fair return to its original glory or will it stay scarred from the pandemic forever? 

No matter the case, ESU clubs are excited to be back on campus and are ready for another in-person semester.  

Email Gabriel at: 

gtorres4@live.esu.edu