Balloons, cookies, posters and Smoosh balls kicked off the beginning of Club Rush Week, which started Oct. 2.
During Club Rush, many clubs on campus set up tables to get new members. Many of them put up posters and gave out candy and muffins. Some club members approached students and enticed them to sign up by offering freebies. For instance, Game Club member Rodney Shaghoulian promised free cupcakes to anyone who signed up.
The Persian Club played music and sold T-shirts as a way to raise funds and at the same time attract new members.
For many clubs, it is important to recruit new members for reasons such as funding. Robert Cannon, president of the Debate Club, said that new members are important because the administration did not award as much as they had requested because of low membership.
“We are very successful,” Cannon said. “We got third place at the four-year nationals, but we need to boost our numbers so we can get more funding. The more people we have, the more talent we have for our team.”
Andrey Seas, Vice President of the Game Club, saw Club Rush as a way to bring people that have similar interests together.
“Many students might not be aware of all the others on campus who share common ground with them,” said Seas. “My job is to network and bring people together, to provide a new venue for people to meet each other through the games we play.”
The Korean Christian Club uses club rush as a way to bring Christian students together. Vice President Jin Kim said “the club is open to all and any student who wants to worship.”
Some clubs use the week to raise awareness for a cause. The Justice Coalition hosted a film, “A Soldier’s Refusal to Wage War: The Case of Conscientious Objector U.S. Army 1st Lt. Eheren Watada” on Oct. 3 followed by a discussion with Lt. Watada’s father, Bob Watada, to raise awareness for the lieutenant’s case. He is currently being prosecuted because of his refusal to go to war.
Armenian Student Association (ASA) member Sevada Simounian said that Club Rush is important because it raises awareness for the club.
“GCC boasts the largest population of Armenians on a school campus,” said Simounian. “If everyone joined and gave five dollars, we could have enough money to send to Armenia to help students there. We’re a nonprofit organization so whatever money we raise goes to help out others.”
According to Simounian, ASA raised enough money a year ago to bring His Holiness Aram I, the leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church, to GCC.