Today: Oct 07, 2024

How to get involved at Southern!

Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity at the club fair last year.

Kelsey Mix – Online Editor/Copy Editor

       If you’ve ever seen someone on campus wearing Greek letters, RHA shirts, or carrying various boxes of who-knows-what, it’s a safe assumption that they’re somehow involved at Southern. I’ve been known to run across campus carrying a bunch of cardboard boxes glued together for Greek week, so I’m no stranger to this trend here.

        But if you’re reading this and you’re not already involved, there’s nothing I would suggest more, so take this as a sign. Getting involved at Southern helped me find my way when I first came here as a freshman. I had a rough first year and if I hadn’t gotten involved when I did, I would have transferred.

        There are tons of directions you could go in when getting involved because there are, what seems like, an endless amount of clubs and organizations. A good way to get a feel for these is to go to the club fair Southern holds every year, so keep an eye out for that information!

Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity at the club fair last year.
Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity at the club fair last year.

        One of the paths I chose to take was joining Greek Life. Now, I’m not going to give you the spiel on why you should rush, but what I am going to tell you is this; joining my sorority was the best decision I have ever made. I know how crazy that sounds, but you can trust me. If Greek Life isn’t for you, there are so many clubs to choose from, but just going to one fraternity or sorority event could change your mind.

        Community service is something that Southern takes very seriously and participates in regularly, so there are many organizations whose purpose is to help out in the community.

        Service Team is one of the smaller service organizations on campus, but regardless of their size, they are always out in the New Haven community helping anyone they can. Reading to children and helping out at soup kitchens and food banks are some of the many projects they work with. Habitat for Humanity is another great organization that I’ve been involved in since my freshman year. In Habitat, we work with the New Haven chapter and help with builds around the area; we also go on a spring break trip to another state and work with another Habitat chapter.

        One of the perks of living on campus and being involved is staying at school over the weekends. Going home every weekend is no fun, so I just stay because I always have something to do. The ones who say it’s boring to stay over the weekends are the ones who just sit in their room and go on the internet. Don’t get me wrong, I love Tumblr, but I need to get out every once in awhile.

SPDC at the club fair last year.
SPDC at the club fair last year.

        A few great clubs to join if you live on campus are the Residence Hall Association (RHA) and Programs Council (ProCon). Both of these clubs put on events for residents and students around campus to keep dorm life interesting. If you become involved with these organizations, you could help plan these events and help run them as well! RHA and ProCon always have bus trips off campus to places like New York City, Washington D.C., Lake Compounce and Six Flags.

        Whether you’re a super senior or a first semester freshman, it’s always a good time to get involved. These are just a few of the many things to do on campus, so pay attention to your Owls e-mail account for updates on events at Southern! If you find something that interests you, just go to one meeting. I guarantee you that you have nothing to lose.

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