Students get involved in the UW-Eau Claire campus life

Blu’s Organization Bash will host over 100 student organizations next Wednesday

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McKenzy Wagner, a retention specialist at Student Organizations & Leadership Center, said B.O.B. is a great way for freshman to get involved on campus.

From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sept. 13 at the campus mall, students of all ages are welcome to browse around 150 tables of different student organizations available on campus.

At Blu’s Organizational Bash (B.O.B.) organizations ranging from Greek life to business to the Ministry of Magic will be available for students to join.

McKenzy Wagner, retention specialist at Student Organizations & Leadership Center, said B.O.B. is a great way for organizations to meet the incoming freshmen and for them to recruit new members.

“We always encourage freshmen to get involved because (the chances of) them staying on campus increases, they usually find better community within the first year here and it brings a nice sense to the Eau Claire community,”  Wagner said.

B.O.B. takes place at the beginning of both fall and spring semesters. As of now, 150 different student clubs will make an appearance at the event, but Wagner said as the date of the bash approaches, organizations are registering at the last minute because they realize how popular it is for getting new members.

The American Marketing Association (AMA), a professional marketing organization on campus, will return for another year at B.O.B. They are known by students at the event as the organization that passes out the famous student planners to anyone who walks by.

President of AMA, senior and marketing analytics student Jake Pederson said B.O.B. is their biggest and best recruitment tool each semester every year. The organization holds an open house the day after the bash, and Pederson said each year around 100 students attend to learn more about AMA and to sign up.

“At B.O.B., the majority of students we talk to are freshmen, but juniors and seniors are also interested, especially if they are looking to pump up their resumes before they have to go out and find an internship,” Pederson said.

Other popular organizations that will make an appearance at the bash are the organizations in Greek life.

Nicole Jossart, a junior operations and supply chain management student and president of the PanHellenic Council, said B.O.B. is a great event for Greek life, where they gain many excellent members each year.

The PanHellenic Council is the governing body of the three sororities currently on campus. There will be a table at B.O.B. titled “Greek Life,” but a member from each chapter will be present to answer any specific questions on a sorority.

There will also be a table for the three fraternities on campus.

Both Pederson and Jossart have joined organizations they learned about at B.O.B.

“I am currently in three organizations on campus, which I found at B.O.B.,” Jossart said. “It is a great way to get involved and see all the different opportunities that campus has to offer.”

There is no limit to how many clubs students can sign up for as they are walking around the tables, but Wagner said she thinks three is a good number to start with. She said it gives students “a little bit of structure and something else to do besides just going to class.”

“I think B.O.B. helps freshman gain a full sense of community and makes them feel they belong somewhere if they choose to join a club or a special interest group,” Wagner said. “It helps with their time management skills between juggling school, their involvement or any sort of employment on campus.”

Wagner said this event is a great way to bridge upperclassmen and underclassmen together and to get everyone in the same area to talk about different things, make those connections and add to resumes.

“Nine times out of ten, kids who are involved in a student organization see graduated employment,” Wagner said.

If students are interested in becoming a member in a student organization but are unable to attend the Bash, they are welcome to visit the Student Organizations & Leadership Center located on the second floor at the top of the grand staircase in Davies Center, where there is a list of all the organizations available to join on campus.