Photo courtesy of Hamilton College Student Center Instagram @hamiltonsadove.
On Friday, Feb. 4 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sadove Student Center will host the Club Fair, but “this time with a twist.” This semester, the Club Fair is titled “Clubs Around the Hill.” It will take place at nine different on campus locations and feature 59 clubs.
Sadove Center Co-Manager Ashley Garcia ’22 explained that “the global pandemic has drastically changed the way we live our lives, and with that comes the absence of community on campuses such as ours. In order to ensure that students who have only known the Hill during pandemic times are exposed to some of the best buildings and people on this campus, we decided to make the Spring 2022 Club Fair almost like a scavenger hunt. You are searching for buildings you might have never heard of and looking for clubs that may bring you an unexplainable sense of joy during your time at Hamilton. We really just wanted to make an event that gets students excited about living on this special campus of ours.”
As part of the scavenger hunt-like experience, students can pick up the passports available at any of the nine stops, which are the Alumni Gym, the Events Barn, the Blood Fitness Center Conference Room, Bundy Dining Hall, Kirner-Johnson Commons 1 & 2, the Science Center, Sadove Student Center and outside of Wellin Hall. At every stop, a student can check out the different clubs set up there and speak with different representatives. Students can get their passport stamped before moving on to the next Club Fair designated location.
Afterwards, they can drop off the passport at Sadove Student Center. Each stamp on the passport counts as one entry into the raffle. From the raffle, students can win prizes such as an iPad with Apple pencil, Speaker Box Portable and Hydroflasks, as well as UberEats, GrubHub, Target and Hannaford gift cards.
Staff members from Sadove and Student Activities have been highly involved in planning the Club Fair. According to Garcia, “We have about four supervisors, each focusing on a special aspect of the project, and there will be as many as nine additional staff members on the day of the program to ensure it is a success. There’s been outreaching to clubs since the first day of school and graphics that have been worked on for weeks on end. Most
importantly, there’s the aspect of encouraging student organizations to participate. Three hours is a long time for any college student’s day, and so this was the perfect opportunity to teach student leaders how to delegate tasks.”
The Club Fair is open to all students. Additionally, the event planners encourage all new students, January admits and students returning from Study Abroad to attend the Club Fair so they can get (re)acclimated to campus and meet new people.
“Plenty, if not all, of these organizations are beginner friendly, so even if you’ve never had your hand at juggling or tap dancing, there is space for you! Participating in student organizations is a wonderful way to meet people who are interested in similar subject matters and hobbies as you,” says Garcia.
Before “Clubs Around the Hill,” takes place, students can watch teaser videos that a few clubs have put together in anticipation of Friday, which can be found on the Sadove Student Center Instagram, @hamiltonsadove.