Students explored the 41 different clubs lined up along Raider Walk during Club Rush on Sept. 19 and 20.

Kristen Robinson, the Moorpark College Student Activities Specialist and faculty advisor to the Associated Students, encouraged everyone to speak with as many different clubs as possible. The turnout this year was greater than expected, according to Robinson. For many students, joining clubs is an opportunity to network with peers, find their niche on campus, and make a difference in the community.

“I think that Club Rush is a really great opportunity for students to learn more about different clubs on campus,” said Robinson. “It’s one thing reading about different clubs, but it’s another thing engaging with those clubs.”

Attendees could find a list of the clubs at the The Associated Students of Moorpark College (ASMC) booth, as well as information on how to start a club and free t-shirts to anyone with a student ID. Sign-up sheets were placed on the majority of tables for anyone interested in joining the clubs.

Returning for another semester, the Book Club had a positive presence at the event. Katie Guthrie, 20, Sociology major felt that it was important to have a book club on campus.

“I love to read, and formed the Book Club to encourage more people to read, as they should be well-versed in the literary classics,” said Guthrie. “We plan on meeting once a month toward the end of the month, but we’re still deciding when and where to meet.”

The newly-formed Law Club was ready to teach students about the legal profession and how to get a law degree. Kevin Kish, 25, Criminal Justice major and member of the Law Club, wants to help students enjoy law as he does.

“The club is all about preparing students for law school,” said Kish. “We are watching a law movie next meeting and having food to greet some new members.”

The Vegan Club at Moorpark College aims to address the environmental and health benefits of eating a plant-based diet, according to Megan Corwin, 20, plant-based nutrition major.

“[The club] focuses on sustainability, ethicality, saving animals’ lives, and helping the environment in return by helping the soil and the ocean,” said Corwin. “You’re not only saving land and animals, but you’re helping our health as well. Our heart loves plants.”

At the newly-formed Feminism Today club table, members were handing out flyers for their upcoming meetings, on the first and third Thursdays every month. Badges and stickers were handed out to promote awareness of the diverse aspects of feminism.

“We want to educate our students about intersectional feminism,” said club president Hadar Amran, a 19-year-old Gender Studies major. “Instead of white feminism, intersectional feminism takes into account different races, and the disparities between genders, like inequality of pay in the workplace, and I think that’s an important distinguishing factor.”

YVNF, or Young Voters National Front, is a club dedicated to increasing voter turnout among people age 18 to 25. Twenty-year-old Chris Luczywek, Sociology major and member of the club’s Board of Directors, believes the club helps to mobilize politically-interested students to be more active in their community.

“The main thing is that people are already excited about getting motivated to vote and being politically active, but they have nothing to be a part of. YVNF is giving them an option,” said Luczywek. “I think it is having a positive effect and I think people are really liking it.”

23-year-old Communications major Holden Streetly is the Vice President of Spectrum, a club specifically focusing on the betterment of the LGBTQ students on campus. According to Streetly, the club provides a safe, social, and educational space. They meet twice a month.

“You are always welcome to come to our meetings,” said Streetly. “All we ask is to come with an open-mind, open-heart and open-ears. We are like a family, and that’s my favorite part of it.”

The Chemistry Club table was decorated with test tubes and offered a slime demo for students passing by. According to 19-year-old Materials Engineering major and Chemistry Club vice president Ericka Szaldobagyi, the club aims to make the science of chemistry fun for everyone.

“Every meeting it’s just food, pizza, drinks, and then alongside the food we do a bunch of cool demos, like today we are doing slime,” said Szaldobagyi. “This month we are going to be doing a self-carving pumpkin, so who doesn’t like explosions?”

Chemistry Club meets every first Wednesday of the month, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. in PS 207. According to Szaldobagyi, the club benefits uniquely by having access to the chemistry lab.

“We try to do fun things that normally people won’t have the access to because we have access to the chemistry lab,” said Szaldobagyi. “We have supplies, chemicals, teachers and helpers that make this all possible.”

Also at Club Rush was The Black Student Union. This club focuses on inclusion and issues that affect African American communities. Club Rush was a way for them to establish friendly connections with the campus population.

“[Students] can come meet us face to face and put a name to the club, so they’re not walking in timidly and that sort of thing,” said Clarke Davis, 24, Forensic Psychology major. “They know that they already have a friendly face there.”

Club Rush gives students the opportunity to meet club members, like Davis, and sign up to get email newsletters. According to Davis, joining a club is only the beginning that leads to further student success.

“We find that the more the students get involved in Club Rush, or different career fairs or anything like that, tend to do better in school,” said Davis. “They are more motivated to come to campus, actually attend classes, that type of thing.”