Club me till I’m week

By Dean Hetherington

It’s that time of year, when the halls are suddenly filled with brightly-coloured booths, displaying their wares to new and old students alike. Yes, Clubs Week is back and from Mon., Sept. 20 to Fri., Sept. 24, clubs are trying to lure students into joining.

"The point of Clubs Week is to create an awareness of clubs and what they offer," said Club Committee Chair Steven Skitch. "It also serves as the Students’ Union’s welcome to the clubs by providing club seminars and club breakfasts."

Students have a whole range of clubs to choose from, be it pro-wrestling or religion.

"There are clubs for culture, sports, hobbies, interests, religion, academics and politics," said Vice-president Operations and Finance Amanda Affonso.

In the past, Clubs Week was plagued with student complaints about congestion, both from participating clubs and students trying to get to class.

"In past years there have been complaints about booths along the Science Theatre hallway," said Skitch. "To alleviate this problem, there are now clubs in the foyer of Science Theatres instead."

Despite the changes for this year, students and clubs are still finding congestion to be a major issue.

"They tried to lessen the number of booths, but still it’s very congested," said third-year Biology student Melissa Setiawan.

According to some club members, students are able to gain opportunities they otherwise might not have without club backing. For new students, Clubs Week is an excellent way to meet other like-minded students.

"Clubs provide the non-academic component of university," said Affonso.

Clubs Week also provides clubs with their own orientation in the form of two mandatory seminars.

"The Alcohol Awareness seminar is held for those clubs interested in serving alcohol," said Affonso. "It deals with issues of sexual harassment and alcohol management within clubs."

The second seminar deals with general club issues to increase the survival rate of clubs.

"The Clubs Survival Seminar will teach clubs what the SU can do [to help]," said Skitch.

"The seminar will teach club executives how to budget, fundraise, negotiate contracts and how to have a successful year," added Affonso.

Booths will be in MacEwan Hall and Science Theatres Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Clubs Week ends with a barbecue for club executives in the Black Lounge on Friday at noon.

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