By Katherine Yeager | Echo
On Sept. 15, tables snaked through both levels of the LaRita Boren Campus Center. The club fair, sponsored by the Student Senate, raised awareness of various campus clubs and organizations, from Taylor World Outreach to Delight. An analysis of activity involvement shed new light on the number of students involved in clubs.
According to Kim Case, director of assessment and quality improvement, the 2015 Taylor Senior Survey data shows Taylor students spending less time in clubs and groups than two comparable extracurriculars.
The first group (Comp 1) is comprised of other religious four-year colleges. The second group (Comp 2) is comprised of nonsectarian, Catholic and other four-year colleges.
However, other data shows Taylor students spend significantly more time socializing, engaging with friends and participating with club and intramural sports. This emphasis, according to Case, could be due to a strong emphasis on hall, wing and floor activities.
While 69.8 percent of Taylor students stated that they played club, intramural and recreational sports since entering college, only 49.3 percent of students from Comp 1 and 51.9 percent of students from Comp 2 played similar sports.
The survey shows that 36.2 percentof outgoing seniors reported no involvement in clubs or groups during their time at Taylor in comparison with Comp 1 (33.9 percent) and Comp 2 (30.3 percent).
All three groups held similar involvement in the 1-2 hour bracket, with 21.5% of Taylor students,21.6 percent of Comp 1 and 21.3 percent of Comp 2.
Sara Bretz, graduate assistant for Taylor Student Organization (TSO), is a first year MAHE student and supervisor of Senate President Christine Rogers. Bretz and Rogers, along with student senators, organized the recent club fair.
Regarding clubs, Bretz likened Taylor to Messiah College. According to Bretz, both universities have a comparable setup for clubs. Messiah's clubs also operate under a Student Senate.
"I really do believe that there is something for everyone," Bretz said. "Being a part of a club is a great way to make friends, hone in on your skill sets and gain experience in leadership."
According to Rogers, while there are no new official clubs yet, the Senate has already been contacted several times since the start of this year as some students are looking to start a Women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) club, and others are interested in starting a cheerleading team. An official change this year, according to Rogers, is the elimination of Men's Programming.
Despite statistics showing lower club involvement, Taylor offers diversity in clubs and organizations comprised of members who are passionate for their shared beliefs such as art, music or social justice and for spreading those beliefs to others through various events like Social Justice Week, film series and speaker series.
Integration of Faith and Culture (IFC) President and senior Savanna Sweeting and IFC cabinet members create and implement campus events such as concerts, movie screenings and speakers.
"IFC is a cabinet that believes culture is a vehicle for understanding the Christian faith," Sweeting said. "We seek to provide events such as concerts and movies to elicit conversations amongst the Taylor student body."
IFC hosted past concerts on campus such as Kishi Bashi, Bon Iver, Summer Heart, and Gallant. On Sept. 30, IFC will bring singer Helado Negro to Taylor.
Some groups, such as Inter-Class Council (ICC), are elected by classmates. Junior Nathan Mortensen began his third year on the ICC cabinet with enthusiasm, thrilled to represent his class.
Mortensen enjoys being involved through ICC with the planning of events such as Airband, Taylathon and J-Awards.
"Honestly all of the sweat, minimal sleep and stress is 100 percent worth it when you see people having a great time at an event that you worked so hard on," Mortensen said. "Seeing the look on people's faces is what makes all the hard work worth it."
Some clubs, such as Enactus, an entrepreneurship club, specialize in specific skill sets. According to club president Tyler Hagan, Enactus involves different student-run projects that solve problems and influence Taylor and the greater community.
Each year, finished projects are presented at a national competition, comprised of Enactus chapters from universities throughout the nation. This year, projects include TU Marketplace, Marketing/PR, Business for Kids, Green Education Program and the Promising Ventures Center.
Other groups, such as the Public Health Club, sponsored by Associate Professor of Public Health Bob Aronson, attract students from beyond the major associated with their name. Sophomore pre-med major Abby Crosley enjoys getting to know others who are passionate about health and society in an atmosphere that encourages digging deep into problems faced locally and globally.
The goal of Public Health Club, according to Crosley, is to bring about awareness of issues affecting the Taylor community and the surrounding world. Crosley cited the hand-washing campaign the club championed last year as well as monthly topics for seminars and campaigns. This month's topic is bioterrorism.
The list of clubs, officially sanctioned by Taylor as well as unsanctioned clubs, sprawls longer than the club fair tables set up in the LaRita Boren Student Center. Students wishing to see a full list of clubs and club leaders can contact Christine Rogers.
