SU involvement fair will host registered student organizations. Courtesy of Stephen Sartori.

The Student Involvement Fair is a chance for students to learn about registered student organizations at Syracuse University.

The fair, which will be hosted on the Quad, will be on Sept. 4 starting at 11:30 a.m.  

Sarah Cappella, the associate director at the Office of Student Activities, said in an email that organizations benefit from the fair as much as students do. The goal of the fair is to showcase what organizations SU has to offer and recruit new members, and it helps students find ways to be more involved on campus, she said.  

“It can be overwhelming to know how to get involved, so our goal is to make it easier for students to find organizations and clubs that fit their interests and talents,” Cappella said.  

For some students, the fair is an introduction to the student organizations on campus, said Sean Andersen, president and executive producer of Ottonomous Productions, in an email. Andersen said the organization helps student filmmakers collaborate with peers and the surrounding community to create films. He said Ottonomous Productions is the only club of its kind at SU.  

Ottonomous Productions is looking to expand this year by reaching out to the communities beyond SU, Andersen said. Its current members have been invited to host a free screening alongside the Syracuse Film Society on Wednesday night.  

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Syrvivor Syracuse, which became an RSO last spring, will also make an appearance at the involvement fair.  

Luke Uriarte, the founder of the club, said in an email that it is SU’s version of the popular CBS television show, “Survivor.” Students, like the contestants on the show, are challenged with a task and are filmed and posted online. Uriarte said the club is specifically looking for members who will spend the semester helping with either social media or be part of the film crew.  

He added that as he originally thought of this, he searched to see if other colleges had something similar. Uriarte found that this wasn’t a new idea and many campuses have it too.  

“The club is very similar to the TV show. There are weekly challenges, confessionals and tribal councils,” Uriarte said. “The only thing that is different is that there are no reward challenges, but despite that, it’s very similar to the show.” 

As fun and exciting as this may be, Uriarte said, it is also challenging, because he can’t do this alone. Creating a board of people who were as committed and as passionate as he is has been the largest obstacle yet, and now, he’s focused on fostering growth.  

To do so, it’s important to take advantage of opportunities to publicize the organization, whether that’s putting flyers throughout campus, using created content to spur conversation, utilizing social media to reach larger audiences and attending the fair, Uriarte said. 

“The student involvement fair is the largest event that showcases the recognized student organizations on campus and connects them to students,” Cappella said. “Every semester there are new student organizations that become recognized, so you might be missing something you’re really interested in.” 

Published on September 3, 2019 at 11:06 pm

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