Spiderfest welcomes students to campus life

Students met members of student organizations, enjoyed performances and braved a mechanical bull and rock wall at SpiderFest last Thursday on the University Forum.

The event, which was sponsored by the Campus Activities Board, was a combination of a Student Activities Fair and a football pep rally.

More than 100 student organizations, including club and intramural sports, Greek life and student government, had tables to attract students. "It's the biggest organization fair that we've ever had," said Jake Feiler, president of CAB.

The student organization fair was held last year in the Alice Haynes room, which could not fit every organization, but the Forum offered a centralized location for both the organization fair and pep rally, Feiler said.

"We decided if we combined with the pep rally, which also sometimes struggles to get participation, it could be one big event as a 'welcome back to school' to make people aware how they can get more involved and showcase events on campus," he said.

Freshman Sydney Niegos signed up for three or four clubs, she said. "It's really fun, high energy and informative," Niegos said of SpiderFest. "I went to boarding school, so I know when you're away from home it's important to meet new people and have activities besides classes."

Cara Mikkelsen, a junior who transferred to Richmond last year, said she had joined Images at last year's organization fair and was now the group's president. "I feel like I'm more a part of Richmond," Mikkelson said.

"Events like these are important because it's so easy to get involved and seeing all the clubs here shows how you can just jump into it."

Anthony Crenshaw, assistant director for student activities, said: "The goal this year was to make the fair more interactive and dynamic.

We definitely have more participants this year, and the addition of performances and activities give a good foundation."

Student Activities contributed funding for organizations to sponsor activities, such as jousting sponsored by CAB, the mechanical bull by CA Alternatives and the rock wall by the Climbing and Caving Club. The wall was featured in the center of the Forum.

Casey Glick, president of the Richmond Rowdies, worked with Feiler and Crenshaw to integrate the pep rally into SpiderFest. "We're really just providing a venue for people with similar interests to find each other," Glick said. "I met some of my good friends through athletics and cheering at events. When you have fans who are united in a cause, that has a great way of building feelings and community."

Danny Rocco, the new head football coach, said athletics built campus unity. "I truly believe in the value of building relationships, and that's how I try to move forward in the university," he said. "A huge part of that is the interaction with the student body, being visible and recognizable."

"There's a constant desire to mesh athletics and the football program with the student body, and I think that at a university of this size that's important," he said.

Students at the CAB tent gave out gift bags that included a campus map, candy and information about OrgSync. Feiler and Crenshaw were pleased with the turnout from students looking to get involved in campus activities, they said.

Contact staff writer Taylor Cloonan at taylor.Cloonan@richmond.edu