On Sep. 11, from 2:30–4:30 p.m., Monmouth hosted its first involvement fair of the school year, where students had the opportunity to discover the wide range of clubs available on campus. It was held in front of The Great Hall on Shadow Lawn and attracted hundreds of attendees and representatives from 110 clubs.
Mustafa Abdus-Sabuur, Assistant Director of Student Engagement, explained, “The Involvement Fair is a great time for clubs and organizations to showcase the amazing things they do on campus. It’s important for our students to be involved on campus and the Involvement Fair is a space for students to get to know the different groups we have on campus.”
Students provided their club tables with various items and informative information about their organization. “The Monmouth Review” provided students with copies of their various issues, and Editor-in-Chief Breanna Guinta said, “I think it’s very important to have an event like this so that way students can find out what kind of clubs there are and find where their interests are and to also promote the individual clubs here on campus.”
Kathryn Marshall, the president of Love Blue—a club whose commitment is to create cleaner beaches in the Monmouth community—said, “The Involvement Fair is important because it allows students to get to know their fellow students on campus, and it allows them to find the specific clubs that they want to join to become more involved and get to know people that know their same interests.”
Clubs on the Monmouth campus range from fighting for social justice issues to creating a community for like-minded individuals interested in the same hobbies. Tim Pakrad with Monmouth’s a cappella group, Sea Sharps, commented, “It’s events like these that really bring out Monmouth’s sense of community. If it not be among the faculty, it is absolutely among the students. I have this feeling that everyone looks out for each other, we all came here for the same reason and we are all in this together.”
Two of the most prominent clubs at this event consisted of the Monmouth Republican and Democrat clubs, who were urging students to use their voices at the end of this year to cast their votes in the upcoming election. Jacky Bruno, president of the Monmouth Republicans, urged students to become involved not only in their campus but community in general. “I think getting involved on campus is just super important, especially since we are in a tenuous election year right now,” he said. “Getting involved on campus and not only just getting involved in your community. One of the most important things is to get out to vote this year. We need to see higher engagement between 19 and 29-year-olds because, statistically, we are the age group that is least likely to vote. If there is anything you can take from this, I’d say get involved on campus and go out and vote.”
This year’s event also included an announcement from the Student Government Association (SGA) at 3 p.m. where they announced the 2024 Homecoming theme. After a performance by the pep band, representatives Jackie Tamburrino and Kelly Gonzalez announced to the students on Shadow Lawn that this year’s theme will be “The Flight of the Future.”
“We couldn’t have asked for a better day Wednesday,” continued Abdus-Sabuur, “The energy was spectacular from the weather to hearing the lovely tunes from the pep band and seeing the Monmouth community come together.”
