I walked slowly down towards the AUN Commencement Hall; I was in no hurry because the event had yet to start and the distance to the hall is not much. It's about a five-minute walk from my residence hall Rosaria Volpi Girls and also located directly across the Arts & Sciences building. I was going to observe the AUN Activities Expo, scheduled to start in about an hour. I chose to go early to observe the setup. The Activities Expo is an event staged at the beginning of every semester, mostly at the Commencement Hall, at which student clubs mount exhibitions, advertise their activities, and making effort to recruit new members from new and returning students. Many clubs are known to give out freebies to try to entice more people to sign up for them. The Office of Student Activities and Involvement (OSAI) repeatedly sent out announcements to the student body via emails, in the process, building up high expectations:
Happening Tonight! Activities Expo
Have you ever wondered where you can find out what organizations exist on campus and how you can be a part of what they do?
Well, tonight at the Commencement Hall, 8:30 pm all the clubs will be ready to reach out to you.
Come experience Everything Everywhere All at Once! OSAI
The Commencement Hall was bustling this evening. The exhibiting clubs had decorated the interior with chairs and tables, each tagging their names by their stand. Over ten clubs had been set up, by a random count. The lights were bright; student DJs were supplying the music oozing from loudspeakers reverberating through the hall. Club executives were on hand, smiling and beckoning to visitors, offering flyers, sweets, and soft drinks.
Thirty minutes before the main event kicked off, the hall was almost filled. Visitors soaked the interior décor with warmth and ease. Broad smiles, hugs, and handshakes led to friendly chats. The OSAI team was busy setting up a separate table with soft drinks and finger food. And the email kept buzzing with countdown reminders from OSAI. More students were still strolling in casually. I could spot familiar and new faces. The Club executives began to reach out to engage. It always began with a smile and a hello. "You want to come and see what we have here?" It was business time.
I approached the table of the Women's Leadership Club (WLC). Initially, I intended to ask a few questions regarding this event, the preparation, and expectation, from the point of view of an organizer. I struck up a conversation with a lady who cut an official image. She turns out to be the right person to ask; Ms. Chidera Enwerem, an Information Systems senior is the Public Relations Officer of the WLC. She answered all my questions calmly and sweetly, affirming that her Club expects more people, especially women, to join. I learned that the Women's Leadership Club promotes women's empowerment, holding regular discussions on issues affecting women in today's society. As a forum, the WLC creates a close-knit society of women on campus to discuss, do things and have experiences together. Their goal is to create a warm, friendly, encouraging community for their members. And yes, they share sweets and drinks to spice things up.
In addition to serving the WLC as spokesperson, Ms. Chidera is also a top executive of the Campus Activities Board (CAB) which she said is in charge of planning most major campus events and activities. CAB brings fun and joy to the student on campus with the events they organize and how they go about it. There should never be a dull moment on campus, not at AUN.
Reported by Isioma Enwerem
Software Engineering Senior, Work-study, Marketing and Communications Department