On Monday, Sept. 23, the Kingswood Oxford Upper School saw a new twist on the annual club fair; rather than being held in the old dining hall or classrooms around campus, this year’s club fair took place in the Hoffman Field House.
With all of the clubs advertising themselves in the Field House, it was much easier for new students to find things easily but also not be crammed into a smaller space.
Each club was required to have a visual that could give other students an idea of the goals and mission for the club. In addition to half a table for their poster setup, club leaders received an electronic sign-up sheet from Mrs. Baker in replacement of the usual sheet of paper, which helped advisors know what clubs their advisees had signed up for.
There were many new clubs this year, including the Action for Alzheimer’s Club, the Action for Diabetes Club, a mental health club called Active Minds at KO, Asian Instrument Club, Car Club, Cheer Club, Science Fair Club, Food and Culture Club, Girls Advancing in STEM, Girls Who Code, Printmaking Club, and the UNICEF Club.
Dean of Students Kata Baker made the decision to change the location and format for the club fair due to feedback in the KO News that reflected the views of the greater student body. Last year, clubs met in classrooms around campus and new students went around and attended meetings hosted by each club as a preview to each group’s structure, aims, and activities. According to Ms. Baker, this change to the traditional format of the club fair did not go as well as planned because many students did not participate. “It wasn’t wildly successful,” Mrs. Baker said, reflecting on last year’s club fair. “I think it was just too much to manage going to different meetings.”
She also discussed why many students and faculty preferred the club fair being hosted in the Field House rather than other spaces around campus. “There’s something about having all of the clubs in one room, that energy, being able to quickly see all of the options,” Mrs. Baker said.
Some students, such as senior Lily Temkin, are members of multiple clubs. Lily is the Editor-in-Chief of Thread, a Managing Editor for KO News, and is a part of Power of Women. Although she was not signing up for any new clubs this year, Lily commented on how she felt the club fair went this year as opposed to previous years. “I thought the club fair was great this year,” she said. “Last year, it was really tricky because you just went to classrooms and saw clubs, but I liked that they brought back the traditional club fair that they’ve had in the past, and I think it went really well in the field house.”
Another student, senior Sasha Dausey, saw great success in this year’s club fair. “I really enjoyed that we brought the original style of the club fair back,” she said. “It was a great way for new students to see the opportunities that we have at KO and be exposed to all of it all at once.” She also talked about how it was good for students to sign up for lots of extracurricular activities they might be interested in. “Starting out by testing the waters is a great way to get involved on campus,” Sasha said.
Freshman Logan Barash shared his thoughts on this year’s club fair, the first such event he had gone to. “I think it went pretty well,” he said. “There were a lot of clubs, and it was pretty interesting,” Logan said. He had signed up for the Investment Club at the fair and is enjoying it so far.
