For students new to Pierce, stepping onto campus for the first time can be daunting. Whether they come straight from high school or are returning to complete their higher education, the fresh faces and unfamiliar grounds can make it difficult for one to feel that they have a place at Pierce.
Being a member of a club—including the Anthropology Society, Blatigenous or Save the Beach—gives students the sense that they are part of a community and it provides them with a supportive network of like-minded individuals.
However, Club Rush—an event meant to showcase the various groups on campus and, ideally, increase student participation within them—is held almost a month into the semester; when students are likely busy with schoolwork and might not have the free time to attend.
Moreover, the event is hardly advertised; one of the only indicators that Club Rush was going to be held on Feb. 28 and March 1 was a post made on Pierce’s Facebook page a mere week before the dates.
To increase student awareness of, and participation in, the various clubs on campus, Pierce should hold Club Rush within the first two weeks of a semester and should advertise the event consistently from the start of the semester.
This would give interested students the opportunity to make note of the dates and set time aside to see what the various organizations at Pierce have to offer. Also, it would be much easier and more convenient for students to set that time aside at the beginning of the semester when they have less schoolwork.
To bring the appropriate attention to Club Rush, Pierce should take advantage of it’s online platforms it is present on.
Rather than making a single social media post that advertises the event, Pierce could devote time to making multiple posts on Facebook and Instagram in the weeks leading up to the beginning of a semester.
Also, Club Rush should have a clear presence on Pierce’s website—a flyer of sorts that indicates to any who visit the site that the college supports its student organizations. Mention of the event was conspicuously absent on the website this semester; not even the calendar listed it.
Similarly, the section of the Pierce website dedicated to the clubs on campus is rather desolate and somewhat hidden in the ASO page.
Pierce should update its website to include a page for the clubs that is reachable from the homepage that offers much more information for interested students to avail themselves of.
Club participation benefits student by offering them a space to share their beliefs and interests with others who provide them with support and companionship in their time at college.
The organizations on campus that provide this to students benefit from the exposure given to them by Club Rush.
However, with the current lack of advertisement and questionable timing of the event, it comes off as a bit of an afterthought and is not as effective in connecting students with clubs.