“We brought a real human brain to the Activities Fair,” sophomore Olivia Benitez said, gesturing behind her. In front of the typical tri-fold poster sat a white bucket smelling strongly of formaldehyde. With a stack of disposable gloves next to it, Benitez, Co-President of Synapse, asked curious visitors if they wanted to touch the brain.

Every year, in the sweltering heat of August, Mudd Field acts as the host for over 450 student groups on campus. First-years flock to the event after their Friday classes. Upperclassmen saunter around to say hi to their friends who are tabling. Club representatives vie for the attention of passersby. Students of all years get lost in the chaos that is the fall Activities Fair. 

At the Activities Fair, club representatives tend to use all kinds of tactics to try to grab the attention of browsing students. Whether that be free gadgets, a bowl of candy, or yelling at those walking by, these liaisons stop at nothing to get their QR codes scanned. Regardless of the strategy, it seems that a simple poster doesn’t cut it anymore. 

A common attention-grabbing tactic is the use of objects representing the student organizations on campus. All sorts of groups bring items to represent their activity, as a hook to draw in prospective new members. If a club is boasting about touching a blob of neurons, you would want to check out their booth, right? Rather than wandering around in the chaos, for the 2024 activities fair, we let the weird, eye-catching, and unconventional objects brought by club representatives serve as a guide. 

A Race Car at WashU Racing

Senior Siya Verma sits smiling in the WashU Racing car. | Sam Powers

The trek to the engineering-focused clubs required excruciating sun exposure while crossing Mudd Field, but drew viewers regardless. WashU Racing stood out, with a massive race car sitting in front of their table. Vice President of the club, Siya Verma, explained that although it seemed huge, the car in front of us was only “a third of the size of an actual Formula 1 car.”

“Every year we design, build, and race a Formula-style race car,” said Verma, a senior majoring in Genomics and Computational Biology. The interdisciplinary club runs their race car on a motorcycle engine and has had great success in races against other schools. 

The Giant Chess Board at Chess Club

On the opposite side of the field stood a staple in the realm of Activities Fair props and objects: the giant chess board laid out on the grass. Students passing by stopped to look at the display and play with the massive chess pieces. Senior and Co-President of Chess Club Shreya Mangalam, who was running the display, shared that she has been playing chess competitively for her whole life. In college, she has found a home on WashU’s team. 

“We’re one of the strongest teams in the nation,” Mangalam said, a claim made more impressive after she cited St. Louis as the Chess Capital of the U.S. Despite the high skill level of the team, the goal of the display was to encourage students who might be interested to play a casual game of chess outside. 

The Swords and Armor of Kendo Club

Senior Sam Chen shows off Kendo Club equipment. | Sam Powers

Sam Chen, dressed in black body armor, was a few booths down. A senior and a member of Kendo Club, Chen walked through the equipment needed for this martial art. He explained that “Kendo can be a very competitive sport, so you may want to make sure you’re very well protected,” referencing the armor he was wearing.

The objects themselves reinforced his point, as he showed off two different kinds of swords, one made of bamboo and one made of wood. Chen himself joined the club his sophomore year after visiting their Activities Fair booth and is happy that the club is so connected with the local community. Just last weekend the club performed in the Japanese Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden. 

A Five-Person Tent at Outing Club

Sophomore Liora Raimondi and seniors Lilly Vereen and Sara Goldstein pose with the Outing Club’s five-person tent. | Sam Powers

Further down the endless row of tables stood a potential refuge from the intense sunshine on the field: a tent. 

“We thought it could be good because it’s so hot out that maybe people needed to hang out there for the shade,” said Sara Goldstein, the president of Outing Club. “Also, it’s a great conversation piece.”

Indeed it was, as students who came by were eager to hear about Goldstein’s philosophy of “getting people outside for free.” Outing Club boasts 700 members, and according to Goldstein, coordinates outings that involve all sorts of outdoor activities. 

“You name it, it’s outside, we do it,” she said. And all for free, since Outing Club’s funding covers all equipment costs. 

A Volleyball Net at Men’s Club Volleyball

Thomas Schuster and junior Nate De’Alesio clash at the Men’s Club Volleyball net. | Sam Powers

From the shade of the tent, a net and jumping players could be spotted above the sea of students on the field. The intense game of volleyball had been set up by Men’s Club Volleyball.

 “A trifold can only say so much,” explained senior team member Bennett Yee. “We had a net available, and we thought, ‘why not?’” 

Yee reflected on the laid-back culture in club volleyball, emphasizing how it is accessible to all skill levels. He said that “we have some guys that played in NCAA level and then we have guys that just started playing in college. We’re looking to have a good time and have some fun.”

A Frisbee Jump at Ultimate Frisbee

Senior Sasha Rifkin snags a frisbee from the air. | Sam Powers

Wading into the sports section, the number of objects and equipment increased, ready to draw in curious students. A strange, metal post loomed above them all. The Ultimate Frisbee teams, proud owners of the pole, explained that this post was a frisbee jump, for training team members to jump and catch a frisbee in a game. 

Senior Sasha Rifkin, the Recruitment Chair for WashU Women’s Ultimate Frisbee, indicated that this quintessential college sport comes with a tight-knit community. 

“All my best friends are from frisbee,” Rifkin said. She added a piece of advice to Activity Fair goers: “Finding a community is really important when you’re a freshman, and this is a good way to do it.” 

A Sculling Oar and a Boat for WashU Rowing

Sophomore Ryan O’Connor shows prospective members proper form. | Sam Powers

Perhaps the largest item in the sports section was the massive silver boat, propped up on a stand, representing the WashU Rowing team. Nearby stood Ryan O’Connor, a varsity rower, holding the boat’s corresponding oar. He explained that despite its size, the almost 24 foot long boat only seats one rower and is the smallest boat the team races, both in terms of length and rower capacity.

O’Connor is a sophomore, and therefore one of the younger club representatives at the Activities Fair. He said that many rowers were once swimmers and described a sort of swimming-to-rowing pipeline throughout the transition to college. Despite this, he was eager to emphasize that “you need no experience” to join the team, and that “it’s so fun. We’re always looking for novice rowers.”

Clifford the Puppy for Campus Y 

First-year Sarah Kelly and junior Anneliese Sideman pet Clifford, the Anatolian shepherd puppy. | Sam Powers

Closer to the shadier section of the fair, a crowd of students had formed around the Campus Y booth. These students were petting a puppy in front of the table. Though cute, the puppy named Clifford did not immediately make sense in connection to the organization. Anneliese Siedman, the Membership Director and Clifford’s handler for the day, explained that one of Campus Y’s most popular programs is Working so Animals Get Support, or WAGS, which draws hundreds of volunteers.

“There was nothing to get the message across better than a dog,” she said, referencing the nine-month-old puppy sitting next to her, greeting potential recruits. Siedman, a junior, got involved with Campus Y through another one of their popular events, Safe Trick or Treat, where local children enjoy Halloween-themed activities on the South 40. While these two programs are the most popular, Siedman emphasized that Campus Y has a total of 22 programs available to students. 

Drums at Samulnori 

Junior Emily So and senior Jane Zhang perform for Korean Percussion music club, Samulnori. | Sam Powers

Looping down the other side of the field led to most of the performance-based groups, where the Samulnori, a Korean percussion music club, was easily drawing people in with impromptu drum performances. One of the drums, the Buk, was played by Yoon Shin, a junior and a member of Samulnori. He shared that he started playing this type of drum, meant to “mimic thunder,” when he joined the group and has now been playing for two semesters. The group performs annually at the Lunar New Year Festival, and also for off-campus events. 

Lion Head at LNYF Lion Dance

Senior Birdie Lee poses with Lion Dance head. | Sam Powers

Right next door, Birdie Lee was holding a bright yellow, glittery lion head, representing the Lunar New Year Festival (LNYF) Lion Dance. According to her, the lion heads her group uses are “all handmade, they’re made of papier-mâché, there’s all sorts of sequins and little plastic bits and pieces.” Lee actually used the lion head she was holding in last year’s LNYF, and is now a Senior and a Choreographer for the 10 person group. Like Samulnori, the Lion Dance group performs both in LNYF and off-campus for various events. 

A Model Plane at Design/Build/Fly

Junior Sarah Donner hoists Design/Build/Fly’s model plane proudly. | Sam Powers

Back at the engineering clubs, several large planes and plane parts had made their way onto the grass. This booth belonged to Design/Build/Fly (DBF), a club that produces a model plane for an annual competition. Last year, the WashU DBF team placed well with the plane that Sarah Donner was holding. Donner is one of the Aerodynamics Team Leads. She described her team’s role, saying, “We do the calculations for the plane, we calculate lift and drag, and we make sure that the size of the wing will be enough to hold the weight of the plane for that year.” Like other engineering-based clubs, she emphasized that there are many different majors on the DBF team, and that students don’t need any prior experience in the field to join. 

Despite the diversity of objects (and groups), almost every representative had similar things to say about their respective clubs: anyone can join, and the people they’ve met through their organization are the best part. The objects that clubs bring to the Activities Fair may be odd at times, but serve the important purpose of advertising the communities that WashU has to offer. Perhaps they may even get students to check out clubs they would have never thought to look at. By all accounts, advertising clubs with props and objects is effective, even if it’s a brain in a bucket.