Activities Fair promotes student involvement

Students packed into the Petersen Events Center on Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m. for the annual Activities Fair, shuffling from booth to booth with hopes of getting involved on campus or simply acquiring an array of free T-shirts.

The goals of the Activities Fair are to help students find organizations on campus that interest them and to encourage campus involvement. Gina Scozzaro, the business manager of the Student Organization Resource Center, said the activities fair hosted 345 student organizations this year out of the 400 that are registered with SORC — about 15 more booths than were present last year. 

Scozzaro said that between 5,000 and 7,000 students attend the fair each year, searching for groups to join. The fair is open to both incoming students and upperclassmen who are looking to get involved. 

To attend the fair to recruit members, a registered organization must register on the SORC website.

“We do see a lot of sophomores that come that didn’t really get involved their freshman year, so now they’re looking for something extracurricular,” she said. “We keep growing every year. We get more organizations every year and more groups come to the fair every year.”

She said that a large portion of newer groups on campus are organizations devoted to service, such as Global Brigades. 

Siyu Xiao, a senior molecular biology major and the campus chairwoman of Global Brigades, said that the organization focuses on international development in Panama, Honduras, Ghana and Nicaragua. 

There are five chapters of Global Brigades at Pitt — including environmental, business, medical, public health and water — which collaborate with one another in different ways. Xiao said that the Activities Fair is really important to the organization because it’s a great chance to recruit students, especially freshmen.  

“There’s opportunities for any student with any major or interest to get involved, not just abroad, but also on campus if they can’t afford to go abroad,” Xiao said. 

Another new organization on campus is Off The Hook, a club instituted over the summer by Emily Blume, a junior majoring in English literature.

“Off The Hook is a community of students from all backgrounds … who are looking for an alternative to the hook-up culture by recognizing each person’s dignity and promoting mutual respect,” Blume said.

Off The Hook looks at issues of sexual integrity from an intellectual standpoint as opposed to a religious standpoint and provides a supportive environment for students to discuss these issues with an open mind. 

“One of the most important things [Off The Hook] wants students to know is that there is, in fact, a way to live a full, flourishing college life without feeling the need to have casual sex or casual hookups,” Blume said. 

She said that the Activities Fair gives new clubs like Off The Hook an opportunity to put their name out there and gather students’ contact information.

“Even if people aren’t 100 percent on board … it definitely sparks people’s curiosity and interest. They may only agree with half of what we’re saying, but they’ll still be interested in coming to the first event just to feel it out,” she said.