Whatever fun things your high school had, UA probably has it too

The University of Arizona is a huge place with hundreds of clubs, organizations and more that students can join, have a good time and grow as a person. Here are some groups and activities to look into.

If you liked playing sports in high school, try intramural sports

UA Campus Recreation offers several intramural sports teams for students looking to stay active or even join a team for the first time.

There are intramural sports leagues for basketball, soccer, tennis, ultimate frisbee and kickball among others. Most sports also have coed leagues.

“The healthier and more active you are, your brain is more active and you do better in school, so there is a whole correlation there,” said Tara Watson, assistant director of marketing and communications for Campus Recreation. “There is also that social side, and intramural sports is a good way to do that as well.”

For students who want to stay active without sports, students get free entry into the recently renovated UA Recreation Center which contains a gym, basketball courts and a swimming pool.

For more information on how to get involved in intramural sports and the Recreation Center, visit the Campus Recreation website.

If you liked environmental clubs in high school, try Students for Sustainability

Students for Sustainability is a student program that works to make the UA campus more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

“The work [SFS] does ranges from environmental education at K-12 schools to building water basins and cisterns to maintaining a community garden,” said SFS co-directors Lisa Sene, Rebecca Van Rhee and Stanley Wong in a written statement.

SFS partners with other groups across campus, like Compost Cats and the Office of Sustainability, for large-scale sustainability projects like zero-waste football games and bringing solar panels to campus buildings.

SFS has eight different committees focused on areas ranging from environmental social justice to energy and climate. For more information on how to get involved, visit the SFS website.

If you liked watching sports in high school, try the ZonaZoo

The ZonaZoo is the award-winning official student section for the UA’s home sports games and is one of the best ways to join fellow Wildcats in cheering on the teams.

The ZonaZoo officially began in 2003 and has grown to become the largest student section in the Pac-12. During football and basketball games, hundreds of Wildcats pack the ZonaZoo sections decked out in UA’s signature red, white and blue.

For prices, membership options and more, visit the ZonaZoo website.

If you liked debate in high school, try the UA Debate Series

The UA Debate Series consists of monthly forums where two teams of students debate over a topic of public concern and compete to see which side had the more effective argument.

“The Debate Series offers students a public platform to express their ideas and practice their public speaking,” said Ted McLoof, founder and executive director of the UA Debate Series and a lecturer in the Department of English. “For students who choose not to debate, we have marketing, social media, research and finance positions, as well as free travel and course credit.”

The 2018-2019 academic year was the inaugural year of the UA Debate Series and some of the debated topics included immigration, the right to vote and political correctness.

For more information, visit the UA Debate Series website.

If you liked student council in high school, try ASUA

Associated Students of the University of Arizona is the undergraduate student government of the UA. It represents UA students whenever new policies are being discussed, manages all student clubs and runs many programs like SFS and the ZonaZoo.

ASUA’s members are all student elected and appointed, meaning that any Wildcat has the chance to become an ASUA leader. ASUA also offers a number of other ways to get involved besides running for office with volunteering and job opportunities.

Visit the ASUA website for more information.

At a campus so large, there is something for everyone to try out at the UA. For more ideas on how to stay busy at the UA, visit the “Getting Involved” section of the UA website.

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Copy Notes:

For the SFS contacts, they gave me their quote via email and requested that all three of them attributed in the article so I wasn’t totally sure how to handle that.

Tara Watson (she/her) assistant director of marketing and communication for Campus Recreation watsont@email.arizona.edu

Ted McLoof (he/him) founder of Debate Series gmcloof@email.arizona.edu

Lisa Sene (she/her) Rebecca Van Rhee (she/her) and Stanley Wong (he/him) SFS co-directors sfsdirector@gmail.com