Club me till I’m week

By Dean Hetherington

There’s no shortage of ways to get involved with campus life, and hundreds of student volunteers are determined to show frosh how.

Over 220 University of Calgary clubs have tables set up in the MacEwan Student Centre for Clubs Week, which began Monday. The information week is a way for Students’ Union sanctioned clubs to recruit members. It is also a great way to expose students to the diverse number of extra-curricular clubs and activities they can get involved in on campus.

“Student apathy here on campus is absolutely atrocious and we’d like to see ourselves as a driving force to destroy it,” said Ski Club vice-president external Mark Bustin.

Bustin and the other executive members of the Ski Club want students to get a full experience out of university.

“There’s a lot to do on campus, a lot to do around Calgary and a lot to do with the Ski Club,” Bustin said.

Along with the hundreds of other clubs that have been sanctioned by the SU Clubs Committee, the Ski Club has an information and recruitment table set up. There are clubs for almost every interest, including Campus for Christ, the Cricket Club, the Spanish Culture Club and the Video Game Club.

In addition to clubs there are student societies in every faculty where students can meet others in the same degree program.

Music Undergraduate Society VP Erin Macleod outlined some benefits.

“We help connect students to their degree and give them another tool to get through it,” Macleod said. “We also hold events to get the department closer.”

The student society even helps music students find employment.

“We introduce them to the music community,” said Macleod. “You can start paving your musical career in the city.”

Students need not fear if they can’t find a club that matches their interests during Clubs Week either. Starting your own club is “a pretty simple procedure,” according to SU VP operations and finance Joey Brocke, who is also the Clubs Committee chair.

The aspiring club must have at least 20 active U of C students, a plan for finances and must fill out some forms available either on the SU clubs website or at the Clubs office in MacEwan Student Centre room 279. The Clubs Committee has already received eight submissions for new clubs this year.

Club members receive discounts at the Stör, Bound and Copied and the Den on Clubs Night. There is also a free BBQ at the end of Clubs Week for anyone with a club membership. Clubs Week ends Friday, Sept. 18.

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