Exonians Get Involved Through Club Night

A life-size chariot in the academic quad marked this year’s club night—an annual event hosted by the Student Activities Office to provide students with the opportunity to learn about over 126 clubs.

A diverse crowd of clubs—including a debate team, a belly dancing club and even a Harry Potter-themed club called “Muggles in Denial”—showed up to recruit new members and new students. Several students, such as lower Xiaoyu Ma, were impressed by the “sheer number of clubs on campus,” as well as the variety of choices available.

“Just this past club night I saw some really creative new clubs such as Academy Angels and Beekeeping,” Ma said. “I think the school really encourages students to promote things that interest them. Even if the many already existing clubs happen to not include one’s specific hobby, he or she is always free to start one of his or her own.”

Reverend Robert Thompson described the event’s mood as “exciting.” According to Thompson, students were constantly surrounding club booths and seemed to be enthusiastic about joining new organizations. He described the clubs at Exeter as “a wonderful system with a wide variety of interest groups and opportunities for leadership that makes it great.”

Senior Will Rau agreed, describing being part of a club as “a really positive experience.” He thought club night was a great way to show new students the popularity of clubs on campus, since the event was always crowded and boasted an “ambitious atmosphere.”

“Ms. Lembo did a really good job spacing out all of the information. As a result, everyone was much more prepared this year.”

For new students, club night was the perfect opportunity to start getting involved on campus. New lower Jaynee Ronquillo-Anaya marveled at the “variety of things offered,” adding that she “liked how it was organized by categories.”

New lower Sarah Shepley agreed, describing the event as “informative.” She easily found clubs that interested her since the booths were labeled on a map posted on the Academy Center by category.

The event in general seemed more organized than previous years. Director of Student Activities Joanne Lembo coordinated the event; she sent out countless emails beforehand, detailing the preparation process for new clubs with explanations on the sign up system, how to request materials and constant reminders about the setup process.

Rau was impressed by Lembo’s constant communication with the heads of clubs and added that co-heads seemed much more prepared as a result.

“I really do feel like this year was a lot more put together than last year,” Rau said. “As Exonians, one email two weeks before with all the info isn’t going to cut it. Ms. Lembo did a really good job spacing out all of the information. As a result, everyone was much more prepared this year.”

Lembo’s large involvement in the planning of the event gave co-heads more time and resources to focus on marketing their own clubs and attracting new students, according to Rau.

Upper Connie Cai said that as a co-head of Matter Magazine, Science Bowl and Bio Research club, she was glad to have support in running her booth. With the help provided she created eye-catching posters, prepared club descriptions and found relevant candy and pins to hand out to passing students.

Ma also recognized that club night is an important opportunity for co-heads to find new students for their club. She thought co-heads did a particularly good job this year setting up and advertising their booths to the mass of students who attended.

“I felt like all the co-heads really managed to show that they genuinely cared about their clubs, whether through advertising them or through decorating their booths,” she said.

Students and faculty generally had few suggestions for improvements for subsequent years. In terms of maximizing effectiveness, Thompson suggested that there be some way to survey the students on the effectiveness of various clubs’ marketing strategies.

“If I were a new leader in the group, I would want to know what works and how I should prepare for this big event,” he said. “If there was some assessment that was shared then everyone would know.”

He added that there should be “more music next year, and also interesting food as opposed to just candy.”

Additionally, Thompson felt that while clubs did a good job attracting students, they still have to prove themselves. It’s the co-heads’ jobs to keep the new students informed and interested in the clubs, according to Thompson. He also noted that with the busy schedules students have, choosing to join a club is a serious commitment, and one that should be respected by the club heads.

Overall, the night was considered a success. Since clubs are such an essential part of student life at Exeter, the event displayed the diverse selection of organizations on campus, and it allowed for both new and returning students to get involved in a fun and positive way.

“I really enjoy the atmosphere of club night and the energy—everyone’s so excited for the new year, to try new things, especially the preps,” Cai said.

With the event concluded, many new students are now looking forward to immersing into club life at Exeter and discovering new interests. Prep Will Kalikman is eager to try out new things, and for this reason, signed up for a lot of clubs during the event. He expects he will enjoy them all.

“When I was debating signing up for something I usually just went for it,” he said. “I can’t wait to see what clubs I end up enjoying and new passions I end up uncovering. I expect there will be many.”

Contributions from Julia Goydan