The start of a new semester not only marks the beginning of new classes, but also a new opportunity to get involved in different clubs and activities on campus, which are presented at FUSA’s annual Spring Activities Fair.
This year’s Spring Activities Fair took place on Friday, Feb. 2 from 4-6 p.m. in the Dogwood and Oakwood rooms located in the BCC. This setting is a change from the Fall Activities Fair, which takes place outside The Quad and near the Stag Statue. The return of the Spring Activities Fair prompts the question of whether or not it has the same impact as the Fall Activities Fair.
The Fall Activities Fair is more marketed, and takes place during the annual First Fairfield Friday complemented by a welcome from President Nemec, T-shirt giveaways, a photo booth, snowcones, and, overall, more hype. In comparison, students are only reminded of the Spring Activities Fair in a few emails sent out during the preceding week.
When attending this year’s Fair on Feb. 2, the crowd seemed to be lighter than the large crowd present at the Fall Activities Fair. Some students in charge of tabling for their clubs expressed dissatisfaction due to the lack of traffic passing by their sign-up sheets.
When asked about her club’s success at the Fall Activities Fair in comparison to the Spring Activities Fair, Grace Willis ’25, Vice President of the Management and Entrepreneurship club, expressed that her club wasn’t as successful with sign-ups this time around: “I honestly think people aren’t as interested in the Fair when the Spring comes around, as opposed to the Fall which marks the start of a new year. I also think the Fall Activities Fair is much more broadcasted and talked about.”
Willis wasn’t alone in this sentiment. Many of her peers commented that they were also struggling to get traction at their tables, and believed that the overall set-up in the two BCC rooms makes it difficult to sort through the many clubs present.
Junior Charlotte Kennedy, President of the Arthur’s Club that reaches out to seniors in nursing homes, shared her thoughts on why the Spring Activities Fair tends to be less popular than the Fall: “At this point, I think a lot of first-year students have settled into clubs already and aren’t necessarily looking for something to get involved in.”
However, she adds that she believes the Spring Fair is necessary, “I think some type of event in the Spring is useful for people who want to get more involved. I found one of my favorite clubs on campus at a Spring Activities Fair.” In terms of recommendations to improve the Spring Fair, Kennedy suggests moving the event to the LLBCC, where more students tend to pass by.
While the Spring Activities Fair isn’t necessarily as marketed or popular as the Fall, it certainly holds significance for new clubs who are trying to get their name out there. This is the case for the Investment Banking Society, which just revamped itself after being inactive for a few years.
Junior Zack Maloy, Director of Private Equity for IB Society, expressed his excitement to have his club present at the Fair for the first time. He emphasized the opportunity the Fair gives him to get his club advertised in hopes of being able to teach more students ways to break into “high finance.”
In addition to the remarks from club leaders, the overall sentiment from students who attended the Fair with hopes of getting more involved was very positive. Victoria Conrad ’27 and Maddie Gross ’27 both expressed their satisfaction with the Spring Fair, especially since the first Fall Activities Fair got rained out: “The Fall Activities Fair was a mess because of the weather. This one is much better and more contained, it seems like there are a lot more clubs here,” they concluded.
Senior Kristin Scarfone, the Director of Club Operations and Student Organizations also commented on the inconvenience of the rain at the Fall Fair, which made this year’s Spring Fair more important: “I think it’s exciting for people to come out a second time during the year, especially after it rained in the fall …and seeing everyone show up for their club.” She also noted that this is the most clubs they’ve had present at an Activities Fair, with just over 100 clubs represented at different tables.
While the Fall Activities Fair may be showcased on a grander scale, students reaffirm that the Spring Activities Fair provides a great opportunity for new clubs to get exposure and for students to discover clubs they may originally have overlooked.
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