By Chase Schomp
Staff Writer
cschomp@mail.smcvt.edu
Clubs are back in session at St. Michael’s College. The Student Government Association (SGA) sponsored a Welcome Back Bash and club fair on Sept. 11, the first major event of this year. The SGA combined the Welcome Back Bash which featured games, live music, and food trucks, with the annual club fair that advertised clubs to the student body.
Student club representatives encouraged their peers to explore the many clubs and organizations available at the College.
In-person club meetings were suspended in 2020 due to COVID-19, meaning most clubs have not met on campus in 10 months.
Saint Michael’s College held a joint Club Fair and Welcome Back Bash in the main quad on Sept. 11. Students can check out clubs and organizations sanctioned by the school on campus.
“We are able to return to a little bit of normalcy [and] we really wanted to encourage students to come together as a community, after such a tough year last year,” said Jeremy Little ’23, event worker and secretary of student policy for the Student Government Association. The event also introduced first-years and sophomores for the first time, as this event did not happen last year.
Meghan Geouque, vice president of the SGA, hopes that clubs can operate in pre-pandemic conditions this year. “We are going back in person, our SGA meetings will be in person, and clubs can meet in person now too, so we are hoping it will look like pre-covid,” she said. Many of the club representatives were thrilled to have this event to showcase their clubs to the student body.
Connor Starr ’23, club representative for ShredMC skiing and snowboarding club, said, “We are really looking forward to this year and we just really want to get the club back, and grow it.” Starr also said he hopes to grow the group more than in years past, and this year without COVID restrictions they hope to grow it for future years.
The same feelings were felt by Ethan Li ‘22, photography club secretary. “Last year our photo club was closed, and we could not have people in the darkroom,” Li Said. “I feel our club [is] alive again.” .
Students like Jack Hurley ‘23, said the club fair last year was not as exciting. “I came to the club fair last year and it was a lot less exciting, just in terms that it was just the club tables, and I didn’t see nearly as many people, or any of the food,” he said. This year, he stayed at the club fair longer than he did last fall and spent quality time with his friends.
This was the first major in-person event of the SGA this year, and many underclassmen were introduced to clubs and organizations for the first time.
