Saint Mary's students took a break from studying to explore their extracurricular options at the College's annual Activities Night on Wednesday.
Assistant director of student involvement Joy Usner said Activities Night allows clubs to recruit new and enthusiastic members.
"Activities Night is a way for our current student organizations to advertise and recruit new members and get involved on campus," Usner said. "It's a really fun night for people to come out and see all of the different clubs they might not know about."
Junior Kat Sullivan, vice president of external affairs for the Student Government Association (SGA), communicated with campus club presidents and local organizations in the South Bend community to organize Activities Night.
"A lot of my job is to make sure everything comes together smoothly," Sullivan said. "We have a great group of people here who work really hard every year to put on this event."
Sullivan collaborated with the Office of Student Involvement and Multicultural Services to contact the participating clubs and organizations, Stephanie Steward-Bridges, director of multicultural services and student programs, said.
"We work with Kat Sullivan to help her put together Activities Night," Bridges said. "She sends out the information to reserve tables, and we assist her with giving [her] the list of recognized organizations on campus." Attending Activities Night and learning about the wealth of extracurricular opportunities available on campus is something of a rite of passage for students. Senior Danielle Smith said she still remembers her first hectic night at the event.
"Activities Night was a bit overwhelming my first year because it was inside the Student Center and was kind of cramped," Smith said. "I like it much better this year because it's outside with a DJ, and you can dance to the music as you sign up for your clubs."
The large number of clubs both excited and overwhelmed students. Freshman Natalie Hartman said she signed up for so many clubs she could not keep track of them all.
"I know I signed up for Friends with Sisters, Dance Marathon and Environmental Club,",she said. "The people here are so friendly that it's easy to ask questions and get involved."
Freshman Kristin Linkowskieshe said she plans to join several athletic and outdoor clubs.
"I signed up for intermural volleyball, ultimate Frisbee, camping, fishing, disc golf, outing, water ski team and about ten other clubs," Linkowski said.
