Organization Fest was filled with students and the chatter could be heard all throughout the lawn, with tables that spanned from the front of Lalumiere Language Hall all the way to Raynor Library. And, despite a slight drizzle, it stayed dry enough to host hundreds of interested students.
Marquette University hosted O-Fest from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday. The event was a chance for clubs on campus to broadcast their groups and recruit new members. The event was held in the Central Mall.
Although the event was so crowded that many students were stuck in line waiting to speak to clubs or just waiting to move forward from their last table, there was still a general sense of excitement among the Marquette community.
Oliver Santiago, a first-year in the College of Business Administration, said that it was cool to walk around and see all the clubs.
“I think it shows the amount of opportunities they provide here,” Santiago said.
The clubs ranged from Minecraft Club to Marquette Club Quidditch, leaving room for students to join a variety of activities. Clubs tried to pull in students with stickers, candy and even cupcakes offered on their tables.
Katja Benz, the graduate assistant for student organizations, said O-Fest happens by clubs filling out a form every March asking “who are you?”, “who’s your e-board?” and “are you going to be at O-Fest?” This way she can start with a table count.
Next, Benz said the tables are ordered and a map is crafted so that similar clubs are all in the same section. Some examples of this were Campus Ministry organizations grouped together by Cudahy Hall, sorority and fraternity life by the Helfaer Theatre and various community services partners by the Wehr Chemistry Building.
She said that she hopes all students can enjoy their Marquette experience, and a big part of that is getting involved with campus activities, which is why O-Fest is so important.
“My main goal is to make sure that students feel like they belong here on campus,” Benz said.
“I love seeing the excitement on all the students’ faces, I love advertising it, I love seeing everyone happy to be back,” Benz said.
Benz’s work does not go unnoticed, as Mia McComish, a first-year student in the College of Communication, said that she saw so many different opportunities laid out at O-Fest and is planning to join some clubs as a result.
These sentiments were mirrored by Samantha Wallensack, a first-year student in the College of Business Administration.
“It feels very inclusive, everyone was very welcoming, and everyone sounded so excited to talk to everyone. They handed out so much information which was helpful,” Wallensack said.
The positive feelings were not only felt by first-years looking to get involved, but also by older students looking to grow their clubs.
Lauren Prestopino, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said that her group, the Marquette Equestrian team, had a good experience tabling along with a good amount of interest, a lot more than they originally expected.
“It’s always good to get them to come to the info session and maybe get them to meet some other people that have stuff in common, even if they don’t join,” Prestopino said.
McComish said that professors have been talking about the event and recommending that they attend. And, in addition to recommendations from faculty, O-Fest has been advertised in other ways around campus.
Benz said that they hung posters in every residence hall along with all over campus. They also pushed out posts on Marquette social media accounts to further advertise.
“O-fest is one of my favorite days of the year,” Benz said.
If you missed O-Fest but are still interested in joining Marquette clubs, you can search for organizations at this link https://marquette.presence.io/organizations. Most clubs can also be reached through their social media accounts.
This story was written by Ruby Mulvaney. She can be reached at [email protected].
