Every college or university has a number of clubs designed to give access to activities and ideas that may not be readily available for students.

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The club showcase was held in McGarvey commons Wednesday where over 70 student run clubs set up tables in hopes of catching the interest of Behrend students. Clubs are predominantly formed by groups of students with similar interests, although some clubs, such as the Language Club, recently formed by Massimo Verzella, Ph.D., professor of english composition and technical writing and John Champagne, Ph.D., professor of english and program chair of languages, are looking for students to take charge.

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“Languages are connected to culture and identity,” said Verzella, “languages are like a window that you can open to look at what is outside Erie and the U.S.”

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The clubs available to join here at Behrend cover a vast range of interests that students may have whether it be politics, arts, sciences, greek life, religion, sports or technology, to name a few. The clubs are mainly formed by students and run by students, which provides an easy way to make new friends and relate to other students who may have similar interests. These different clubs also allow students to express themselves and share their ideas with others which can provide students access to new cultures. Katherine Peppers, junior marketing major and president of Cru, a Christian student organization passionate about spreading the word of Jesus Christ, said, “Cru has programs that can take us places around the world to learn about diversity, where we can engage with those diverse cultures and people who may have different points of view.”

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Many of the clubs hold meetings, often weekly, where they discuss different ideas or organize different activities. Rachel Mills, sophomore DIGIT major and political science minor and vice president of the political science society said “I think it’s a good way to have political conversations on such a diverse campus”

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Since the clubs are lead by the students, the club members get a choice in deciding which students hold the different positions. In many cases, the clubs reach outside of the members and have a goal to bring people together, even those who may not be specifically involved with the mission. MaryAnne Stallworth, a fifth year student studying software engineering and president of Trigon said “A lot of people think it’s just the LGBT community, but it's so much more than that because it's the LGBT community and our allies, people in our community come from so many different backgrounds. Our biggest event is the drag show in the fall, we bring a part of our community and we display it and we get so many people that aren't in the LGBT community who come and they get to witness part of our world and they can learn a little more about us through this event.”

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There are clubs designed for almost any imaginable interest, but if one does not already exist, one can be formed after finding an adviser and getting approval from the Student Government Association (SGA), among other steps.

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There are other clubs that cover a variety of interests including the art club with president Brandon Wilson, sophomore english major. “There aren't many clubs dedicated to the arts, it's good to have a singular entity for the different styles” said Wilson.

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The Behrend clubs are designed for networking, expression and most importantly to have fun. To get involved, ask an adviser or visit OrgSync for more information.