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St. Cloud State University
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Sidestreet event entices students
By Adam Johnson
Published:
Tuesday, January 28, 2003
Media Credit: Ryan Henry
Fourth year student Amy Lee talks with Andy Ditlevson (left) and Sara Nistler at the SCSU Career Development table during Side Street held Thursday in the Atwood Ballroom.
The Atwood Ballroom was bustling with activity Thursday as it hosted "Sidestreet," a semi-annual exposition of university organizations.
As students entered the ballroom, they passed through a sea of outstretched hands and warm greetings. They made their way through the tables and sign-up sheets, experienced a whirlwind of pitches, plugs and promotions and left with a fistful of flyers and free food. The event drew more than 80 student organizations, which varied greatly in focus and intent.
"(Sidestreet is a) land of opportunity for students," said Jessica Lavan, coordinator of Sidestreet. "(It's) a great opportunity for (people) to get involved in student organizations and also an opportunity for those organizations to network with one another." Lavan said.
Looking back, Lavan described the event as very successful and that student attendance was higher than it had been in previous years. The event featured a grab bag of many different kinds of clubs and organizations. Some groups, such as Student Government, are as old as the university itself, while others, such as the Pagan Alliance, have formed only recently.
Many groups also change over time. The e-business club, a group for students who wish to learn more about creating Websites and forming online businesses, was formed half a decade ago, but until recently was called the e-commerce club.
"The rapidly expanding role computers play in our lives have caused us to broaden our focus and our goals as a group and so we had to change the name as well." Jeff Eollinger, e-business club member said.
Some of the organizations only required a passing interest on the part of students to get involved, while others required them to pay dues and adhere to a set schedule of meetings and events. Featured were a number of groups devoted to the many extra-curricular activities available to SCSU students, such as Ultimate Frisbee, rugby and skydiving.
In addition, there were several organizations founded for students of a particular major, including the Advertising Club and the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). There were also groups devoted to social or political causes, such as Pro-Choice for America and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). Finally, there were groups that sought out members of a specific ideological group, like the Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship and the Campus Democrats.
To entice potential members, these groups often featured a video displaying their activity or cause, as well as pamphlets highlighting its finer points.
However, student-run organizations were not the only groups represented at Sidestreet. A half-dozen private businesses had booths set up as well, hoping to get students to buy their product or apply for a job. Unlike student organizations, these businesses had to pay a fee between $700 and $900 to advertise on campus. These fees help fund future campus events and provide more opportunities to students.
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