By Glen Ess (The Cascade) – Email
In past years, students in search of clubs on campus would have had to dedicate time to finding and following each group’s social media page. Naturally, this would make things difficult for students seeking to become engaged members of our campus community. That’s one of the positives about having a Student Union Building (SUB); it’s a great way for students to meet, hang out, and develop into an actual student community.
Of the 68 clubs and associations active at UFV there is room space for eight, located across from the student lounge on the SUB’s second floor. After going through the application process and proving that the group was in need of space on campus and would use it well, last August saw SUS informing successful groups that they’d been granted space for the following 12 months.
The original eight organizations were eSports Valley (ESV), University Christian Ministries (UCM), the Chinese students and scholar association (CSSA), the business administration student association (BASA), Oxfam UFV, the UFV Arab club, Black Connections, and the pre-med student alliance (PMSA). However, at the start of this semester, Black Connections, BASA, and CSSA were replaced in the club rooms by the Pride Collective, yoga club, and the pen and paper tabletop club (PAPT) due to lack of use — some used spaces elsewhere on campus, such as the Global Lounge in B building.
Daniel Holmberg, vice-president of PAPT, says the room allows for the club to establish an identity.
“We really love the room, right now we’re working on making the space ours, getting into how the room is going to work for us. We’re working on our art and trying to get as many people as possible engaged in our club by using that space,” he says. “Ideally, what we would like to do is to have someone in there as often as possible for people who come in and want to learn about the games, want to run a game, or just want to talk about games and hang out.”
According to Tam Finnegan, president of the Pride Collective and a prominent yoga club member, the room has already had a positive effect. “It’s been really awesome having a space to actually convene, now that people can see us walking down the halls they can come in, hang out with like-minded individuals,” she says. “It’s become kind of a nice little community corner.”
The current set of clubs will remain in the club spaces until August. Applications will open shortly for next fall’s groups.
Glen Ess is a member of Oxfam UFV.
