Author: Davida Persaud
On Thursday, Sept. 10, Occidental’s Office of Student Life (OSL) hosted its annual Involvement Fair, an event where on-campus organizations have the opportunity to present themselves to the student body. Over 70 booths lined the Johnson Student Center Quad, giving students from all class years a diverse set of groups to explore.
Clubs represented ranged from Greek life organizations to sports teams, cultural clubs and academic organizations. This year, however, student activism groups were particularly well-represented and ranged from branches of national organizations to students petitioning to create a club.
Recent events have led to the creation of several activism groups featured at the Involvement Fair. Brothers Geoff and Greg Martell (sophomores) represented their newly founded chapter of Students Taking Action Now for Darfur (STAND), which is also referred to by students as Act Out Oxy.
STAND is a national organization dedicated to ending the genocide committed in Darfur by the Sudanese government and Act Out Oxy looks to students for support and commitment to this cause. “Raising awareness, educating the community and acting out is the first step to enacting any social change,” said Geoff Martell on his reasons for founding the chapter.
One Voice, a club that strives to raise awareness about the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict, also stimulates student interest in world affairs and involvement in these global issues. “We have seen interest from many students and they all seem really engaged,” said club member Taylor Corbett (sophomore). These organizations were met with enthusiasm by the Occidental community, which has a reputation for active students with an interest in improving global affairs.
Though the Involvement Fair featured established clubs, dedication to student activism was evident even in those without an official group. The Involvement Fair became a place for lobbying and petitioning for the establishment of groups such as Bike Club, a club where students are committed to riding bicycles in order to decrease reliance on cars.
“[There is] no other venue in which all students can get together and it is more effective than overwhelming emails,” says Ava Mikolavich (senior), a student who stood in the quad petitioning for the Bike Club.
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