A brief look at some of the clubs we have on campus
It’s the day of the Student Group Expo, and the Lookout in SAMU is a little hotter and sweatier than usual.
That’s because it’s packed from the windows to the walls with a continuous flow of students. At the tables, students stop to speak with groups of all kinds, like the Marketing Club, the Science Club, and the Chess Club.
Near the entrance of the chaos, I meet Emma and Jenny, two Bachelor of Early Childhood Education students. They tell me that when they started their studies at MacEwan in 2021, they never had the chance to do anything like this. Classes were online, and their schedules were so compact that they had hardly any time to enjoy the other parts of student life.
“It was sad because we would hear about things people had done while we were in class — we were like, ‘why couldn’t they happen after we were done classes?’” says Emma.
But today, while they’re not sure what to expect, they’ve come out to the Student Group Expo to see what else MacEwan has to offer.
One club that’s catching people’s attention is the brand-new MacEwan UNO Club. Adam, a Bachelor of Commerce student from the club, says that it’s set to be the biggest club on campus just one week after its formation.
He says, “The UNO Club is taking over MacEwan.”
The club will host UNO tournaments at Towers every month along with the UNO pop-ups which they regularly share on their Instagram story. But while 140 people are set to show up for the first event, Adam says it’s not really about the card game — it’s about connecting students with each other and making friends.
“The Uno Club is taking over MacEwan.”
Adam, Uno Clubber and Bachelor of Commerce Student.
The far corner of the Lookout is where all of the nerds are hanging out with The Gamer’s Association of MacEwan University (GAMU), a student group collective dedicated to all sorts of nerdy interests. Jess from the club tells me the “collective” is a conjoining of the Animanga Club, the Video Game Club, and other clubs that share similar interests.
“We call ourselves a collective because it’s a lot of the same people going through all the clubs,” says Jess. “Having a student group available where you know people have at least some overlapping interests with you is really important because then you get to open up.”
“Having a student group available where you know people have at least some overlapping interests with you is really important because then you get to open up.”
Jess, GAMU Member and English Student
As I take a break outside the Lookout, I notice Emma and Jenny are just about to head out. They say a couple of groups, like the Volunteer Club, the Animanga Club, and the Ukraine Club, caught their attention. Jenny says she was excited to learn there was a Vietnamese Student Alliance.
“I really want to meet other Vietnamese students,” she says. “I’m half Viet, but I’ve never gotten to have friends that were full Vietnamese.”
Emma also had no idea there was a Black Student Alliance.
“It was nice seeing [the club] and actually talking to someone from it, and [they were] telling me how they support each other across other universities,” Emma says.
0 Comments