By Steven Smeall
Are you interested in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic? Well so are the Algonquin Bronies, who were one of the clubs at Algonquin’s first ever Clubs Day, which took place Jan. 30.
The Clubs Day event gave students the opportunity to find out more information about some of the clubs Algonquin has to offer. Each club had their own table which students could approach to speak to current club members. The clubs were neatly aligned in rows of four to allow students to navigate their way around easily, letting them see all the clubs there.
Not all of Algonquin’s clubs were at the event.
“We have 27 clubs (here) out of 55. A lot of clubs who aren’t here today are study groups,” said Clubs Coordinator Faris Lehn.
Despite many of the clubs not being able to attend the event, the club members that were able to attend gave a strong argument; getting involved with clubs would be an ideal choice for students with some spare time.
“The best part about clubs is that there is money out there for students to put on their own events, so if you don’t like what’s going on around campus and you want to put on your own event or fundraiser, it’s a great way to get involved on your own terms,” said Lehn.
Coming out to Clubs Day gave students the chance to find some clubs that revolved around their interests. Clubs give an opportunity to students to find other people on campus that share the same interests or hobbies as they do.
“I definitely wouldn’t mind going back to the Algonquin Gamers Society as I wouldn’t mind learning that kind of thing, and the Language club looks interesting as I wouldn’t mind learning another language,” said first-year computer engineering student Evan Tatay-Hinds.
Club members were happy to see the turnout of students to the event as it resulted in clubs seeing a boost in membership. Within an hour of the event, some clubs had seen upwards of four or five students express interest in joining.
“I was actually checking out some of the other tables and talking to other club leaders and they’ve agreed that Clubs Day has been an overall success,” said Algonquin Bronies President Stephen Conrad, a first-year public relations student.
For the students who were unable to attend this year’s Clubs Day, they will have to research clubs online as there are no plans for another event before the end of this school year. However, plans are different for next year.
“Starting next year, there will be one (Clubs Day) in September and one in January every year to encourage students to join clubs or start their own,” said Lehn.