The annual Club Fair brought together nearly 100 different clubs and organizations on the UA Mall in an attempt to get students more involved.
Students could get information and sign up for clubs at booths on Monday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., on the Mall.
“”I’ve had three people come talk to me about joining before we even got here,”” said Nancy Freitas, an environmental sciences freshman and a member of Vox, a campus group connected with Planned Parenthood.
The advocacy group used bright pink shirts to attract attention, and by noon more than seven people had signed their names on petition sheets.
“”We try to get people not just to vote, but to educate them more at the same time,”” said Cassidi Hammock, a psychology senior.
The Vagina Warriors yelled “”Vagina!”” at the top of their lungs, which garnered them some glares.
“”Yeah, it’s a pretty wild word,”” said Caissey Agtual, a theatre arts sophomore. “”A lot of people don’t want to say it or feel like it’s a bad word, but we scream it in the middle of a crowd. It’s an attention grabber.””
Nelo Shir, a junior majoring in physiology and history, also helped promote the Vagina Warriors at their Club Fair booth, and explained that having a vagina is not necessary for membership. The club accepts all ages and all genders. Shir sold passers-by chocolate vaginas and “”I heart vaginas”” T-shirts, priced at $18. The majority of proceeds, 90 percent, will go to the Oasis Program on campus for sexual assault and relationship violence. The other 10 percent will go directly to a safe house for women in Haiti.
“”We’re here to stop violence against women and girls,”” Agtual said.
A German shepherd rested by the poster for the “”Ritmos Latinos”” salsa dancing club as salsa music blasted out speakers and group members danced on the sidewalk. Laura Stump, a senior animal sciences major and the president of the club, twirled as her dancing partner spun her before she stopped to hand out flyers to a person walking by. “”Classes start tonight,”” she told the student. The Ritmos Latinos group had a total membership of 170 people last semester. The club started about seven years ago, and is a joint club between the UA and the rest of the Tucson community. They celebrate “”Rueda de Casino,”” which is a style of salsa dance that pairs all people in a circle while a “”caller”” shouts out a different dance move for them to do, according to Stump.
“”It’s meant to be a community dance, because a lot of the moves involve switching partners constantly,”” she said. Classes are held at the south patio of McClelland Hall on Mondays and Tuesdays, and membership costs $30 with student identification.
“”There’s people of all levels and ages,”” Stumps said to a student, “”so don’t be shy.””
