unionsnews
January 23rd, 2013
Festival’s Spring Semester Kick-Off
The Office of Student Activities and Involvement (OSAI) and UPB presented a united front at Student Org Night (SON) and Late Night Breakfast last Thursday, January 17th. Student Org Night lasted from 8-10pm after which the participants could relocate from the Festival Ballroom to the dining area and Festival Lower Drum for the game show themed Late Night Breakfast.
It was a high energy, crowded Student Org Night with over one hundred clubs represented in rows of booths. Students meandered throughout the ballroom, checking out clubs and giving their emails to the ones they were interested in. “There’s a lot of people, but they’re so organized, and it’s helpful to see all the different clubs,” said Freshman Biology major Emily Lodato.
Unlike the fall Student Org Night, club representatives appeared to be searching for a more sincere interest regarding their clubs. “The fall was really busy, but I feel like we’ve received more genuine interest now. We’ve attracted more people who have either declared anthropology as their major or taken an anthropology class and found it really interesting, whereas in the fall people were more about just finding a club,” said Molly Delaney, a senior Anthropology and Art History double major and Vice President of the Anthropology Club.
Students expressed similar sentiments when asked about the clubs they focused on and why. “I want to get more involved,” said Lodato. “I didn’t join any in the fall because it was just so overwhelming. Now I know who I am at JMU and found myself interested in the community service clubs- That’s why I came back for the spring Student Org Night.”
With the conclusion of Student Org Night, both club representatives and students alike had the opportunity to trek the small distance between the Ballroom and dining area for the free Late Night Breakfast. Poster boards and goodies from the previous event were strewn throughout the tables as participants chowed down on their free fourth meals.
To create the game show theme, UPB and OSAI presented Jeopardy, Game Show Mania, Minute to Win It, and the JMU version of The Bachelor/Bachelorette. DJ Platt provided the music and introduced performances by LowKey, the Chinese Student Association, and the Breakdance Club. “It’s cool and different,” said Freshman Computer Science major Tyler Young. “There’s so much going on with the performances and the games, and it’s fun to have a friendly competition with your friends!”
