Pictured above: (Left to right) Student Green Energy Fund (SGEF) members Logan Hill, Elliot Tuchfeld, and Matthew Cimitile pose with their organization’s table.
Courtesy of Brianna Madden | The Crow’s Nest.
By Brianna Madden
Get On Board Day, the largest event of USF St. Petersburg’s Week of Welcome, encouraged students to get involved on campus after missing so much in the last year.
On Thursday, 50 student organizations and community partners welcomed students of all backgrounds to roam Harborwalk and find the right organization to participate in this semester.
Smiles were safely hidden behind masks and excitement buzzed in the air as students realized that their college experience could be more than just lectures and homework.
“We’re not just here for school, we’re here to really get involved,” Sofia Simancas, freshman global business major, said. “I plan to get involved in as much as I have time for.”
Avery Kirk, a freshman elementary education major, was pleased to learn about several organizations on campus.
“This is my favorite event so far,” Kirk said. “With this campus being smaller, I was worried about finding things to get involved with, but this proves there is something for everyone.”
There to ensure every student found a place for them, were our passionate organization leaders. They made sure every student was eager to participate by handing out goodies, flyers and offering tons of information.
However, they were most enthusiastic about an opportunity to safely engage with students at an in-person tabling event.
“As long as people are being safe, I think it’s better to be in person,” said Logan Hill, member of the Student Green Energy Fund. “Seeing peoples’ faces is so much better than being on a Teams meeting.”
Despite the pleasures of an in-person event, Elliot Tuchfeld, member of the Student Green Energy Fund (SGEF), is prepared for the return of virtual campus events.
“If things do get cancelled, we will just take it online,” Tuchfeld said. “But I have seen people pretty masked up, and I hope there is a lot of vaccination on campus.”
Organization leaders are thrilled to see people and feel like they’re part of the campus again. They hope that with Get On Board Day being an in-person event participation in clubs and student organizations will see a drastic increase from last year.
“It’s great getting to see all these smiling faces and being able to meet people face-to-face,” said Alyssa Pleffner, senior global business major and member of the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) Programming Board. “I worked for the office last year when it was all virtual and it was like pulling teeth trying to get people to come and explore these topics with us. Now, everybody is just coming up to this table excited as all get out to be on campus.”
The OMA Programming Board is looking forward to its in-person events, like Wednesdays In The O to discuss topics such as Hispanic Heritage Month, gender identities and expressions, and Trans Remembrance Day. However, its highly anticipated Drag Show at the end of October, is something to look forward to.
Campus organizations understand that safety is a priority this semester.
Most organization leaders plan to encourage vaccinations and masks at all their events, with any large gatherings being held outdoors and postponed if necessary.
Despite these precautions the Student Life and Engagement office wants to make campus fun again. They hope to safely encourage involvement and to foster community on campus.
“There is always a level of concern, but we are doing everything we can to keep safe, but also keep our students engaged,” said Dwayne Isaacs, director of Student Life and Engagement. “The event was originally supposed to be indoors, but we decided to move outdoors, not serve food and make it as touchless as possible.”
Isaacs is optimistic about student participation this year.
“Students are excited. During move-in, you could sense that energy and that want to get engaged,” Issacs said. “I think not just on campus, but off campus, we will start to see activities in areas where students usually frequent.”
According to Issacs, Student Life and Engagement encourages students to have fewer large in-person events and is coaching student leaders on how to host safe, touchless activities.
“Now is a good time to be back on campus,” Isaacs said.
Brianna Madden is a marine biology freshman at USF St. Petersburg.
