The Shorthorn - Participants gear up for biannual Activities Fair Wednesday

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Participants gear up for biannual Activities Fair Wednesday

Written by Joan Khalaf, The Shorthorn senior staff

Tuesday, 26 January 2010 06:42 PM

Students attend the Activities Fair in Feb. 2009 in the University Center Palo Duro Lounge. Different campus organizations promoted awareness for their individual groups at the fair. (The Shorthorn: File Photo)

In a digital generation, students can still get face time with about 120 organizations at the Activities Fair Day on Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the University Center Palo Duro Lounge.

The fair allows students to visit the bulk of UTA’s student organizations and some outside vendors to get a feel for what they may want to get involved with outside of class.

It’s not necessarily healthy to only interact electronically through Web sites like Facebook, and the fair will help give students one-on-one time, said Carter Bedford, Student Governance and Organizations associate director.

“They’ll get to see the students actually working in those organizations,” he said. “It helps you in terms of building relationships.”

Bedford said that there’s more to do at UTA than people realize.

Activities Fair

When: Wednesday, 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Where: University Center Palo Duro Lounge

“There’s a lot to be said for the connections you can make,” he said. “There’s so many opportunities here that you can’t even put a finger on it.”

Sigma Lambda Beta fraternity member Eduardo Vaca-Amaya said his fraternity wants to get their name out at the fair because they don’t have a house like other fraternities.

“I want them to see who we are,” he said. “We’re about cultural awareness and community service. It’s not all about the party.”

International business sophomore Troy Maikowski said he’s attending the fair because he’s looking to get involved in more organizations. He doesn’t have a particular organization in mind, but just wants to see what’s out there.

Exercise science sophomore Shannon Leidlein said she’s promoting the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity at the fair to ease misconceptions and make the organization more approachable. Rush week for the Interfraternity Council is next week and the organization is also looking for new recruits.

“I want to be there to erase the stereotype,” she said. “Greek Life is different at every college and I think UTA is different in that we have a really diverse community. It isn’t all what you see in the TV and the movies.”

UTA Volunteers will grab attention by handing out about 20 free shirts, fliers and applications. UTA Volunteers president Stephanie Fenniri, an interdisciplinary studies senior, said her goal is to get 150 names and contact information, but she expects about 20 percent of those to follow through.

“I’m just looking forward to meeting new people who don’t know about UTA Volunteers,” she said. “We’re open to anyone, there’s no fees and it’s flexible.”

Participating organizations and vendors may start claiming tables at 7:30 a.m. on a first-come, first-serve basis.
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