Winter Club Fair: Success or Failure?

Are club fairs an effective way for students to discover new interests?

Why are so many students eager to start clubs? At Middlesex, we already have a wide range of clubs, many of which overlap in purpose and function. Every year, at the club fair in September, students sign themselves up for at least half a dozen. But, when the time comes, do they really attend club meetings? This year, we had an additional Winter Club Fair, allowing clubs, new or unable to meet the club requirements last semester, to have a chance to attract new prospects. However, many students didn’t even attend, leaving us to question whether or not the Winter Club Fair, and club fairs in general, are effective in helping students to discover new clubs and new interests. 

While there are many clubs that try to engage their members with regular meetings, a good amount of them only do enough to meet the bare minimum. I believe that students, under the pressure to have a strong college application, start clubs that they genuinely are interested in but often struggle to commit to. With Middlesex’s demanding sports requirements and rigorous curriculum, many students can’t keep up with everything. Already overwhelmed by schoolwork, athletics, and extracurriculars, students have only limited time to dedicate to their clubs. Despite their best intentions when starting the club, it ends up as just another item to put on their application. 

In fact, although the club fair may seem like a total waste of time, it is the primary way for many clubs to attract members and gauge overall interest—it is a way for them to announce their presence on campus. However, many students didn’t show up to the Winter Club Fair, defeating that purpose. In addition, students continue to send their all-school emails for their club meetings and also announce them during announcements. So, even if one doesn’t go to the club fair, they can still participate in these clubs, rendering the club fair as just another social event.

Allison Luo