Student Senate discusses Spring Activities Fair, destination for endowment fund money

Student Senate members discuss campus matters (photo from previous meeting).

Photo credit: Kayla Korb

By Nora Betts

Managing Editor

Student Senate officers and representatives at Tuesday’s meeting brainstormed a new look for the Spring Into Activities Fair, a club-promoting event at the beginning of the spring semester which students said “was a flop” in January 2024.

The Spring Into Activities Fair aims to showcase campus clubs for new or transfer students and to attract current students whose schedules change between semesters.

The 2024 Spring Into Activities Fair was a week-long event in late January where each Senate-sponsored club was assigned a day to set up a table in the Janzow Campus Center. Senate representatives said the event resulted in almost no club sign-ups and was largely unsuccessful.

“I sat there for hours,” said one club representative. “Maybe one person walked up, and they didn’t even sign up or anything.”

Senate representatives said the spring semester event should look more like the fall semester Student Activities Fair, which draws hundreds of students to visit booths in the Cattle Conference Room promoting clubs, churches, and area businesses.

Unlike the one-night-only Student Activities Fair, the Spring Into Activities Fair spread the event over five days, which club representatives said limited student interest and wasted club officers’ time.

Concordia Youth Ministry representative Megan Tiedje suggested the same formatting as the Student Activities Fair “just because there’s more stuff going on so everyone’s in the same place at the same time.”

“There’s not like, ‘Oh, I have to plan to go on Tuesday and I have to go on Friday because I’m interested in these two clubs,’” said Tiedje. “And it’s just more efficient for all of us because we don’t have to sit (at a club booth) for hours and no one comes up.”

Curtain Club representative Andrew Ring said that if the event happens in Jtop like last year, there should be another campus incentive to draw students to the building, such as free drinks at 10:31 Coffee.

Students brought up inviting area churches to remind students of the worship opportunities in the Seward area. They also suggested assigning booths to Concordia resources like the counseling office, the Academic Resource Center, and the Student Success Center.

Senate Secretary Kayla Korb said the officers will bring student ideas and opinions to Morgan Grindey in the Student Life Office. The discussion will continue at Senate meetings following Thanksgiving break.

The officers also announced that the Senate has $623.03 from a Christian Endowment Fund to donate to a Christian nonprofit of its choosing.

Senate representatives suggested supporting People’s City Mission, a homeless shelter in Omaha; Voice of the Martyrs, an international nonprofit serving persecuted Christians; or International Justice Mission, an international anti-human trafficking organization.

Vice President Quinlan Hendrickson said the Senate will take more suggestions and vote on which organization to support after Thanksgiving break. He said the funding can be donated directly or can be used to host service projects benefitting the organization.

“We’ll send an email out when everyone’s back to remind you if you have any ideas– or when you go back home and see something, any Christian nonprofit organization that’s not Concordia itself,” Hendrickson said.