Fall semester Club Rush offers students the chance at joining new communities

Ryan Bough and Evan Reinhardt

By Emily Ledesma

With the fall semester already a month in, Moorpark College classes are back in full swing and so are the Associated Students of Moorpark College. Sept. 10 and 11, ASMC hosted their annual fall Club Rush.

Moorpark College students strolled along Raider Walk during the event checking out a variety of clubs ranging from the Wizard’s Club to the Black Student Union.

Cecilia Nguyen, ASMC Director of Student Organizations perceived the event to have gone well stating, “It’s one of the bigger events I’ve planned.”

As Director of Student Organizations, Nguyen is the primary intermediary between Moorpark College clubs and the Student Board.

Forty-five clubs were in attendance, including five that are newly established. Each club had their own table uniquely decorated to reflect the club’s focus.

Nature’s Finest gave away seed packets, the Chemistry Club conducted experiments and the Spectrum Club had a wheel of questions in order to win pride flags.

Last semester the Muslim Student Association was voted the No. 1 club on campus due to their inclusivity and wide range of activities and opportunities.

Club president Salman Muntazir was overflowing with excitement and praise of his organization.

“We have a lot of stuff lined up [this semester] and we’re active on campus for all students.” Muntazir explained.

One of the biggest misconceptions about the Muslim Student Association is the availability for non-Muslims, when in fact all students are invited to join.

“We’ve had tremendous success,” stated Muntazir, who credited the club’s eager and passionate members. “They’re doing all the work.”

The Muslim Student Association hosted the first ever presidential campaign at Moorpark College during Club Rush. The Bernie Campaign, supporting politician Bernie Sanders in his 2020 presidential run, had students flooding their table and getting as much information as possible.

Students signed up to volunteer and receive more information on how to get involved. T-shirts were given out and a variety of stickers and push pins were free to all students.

“We’ve had hundreds and hundreds of people sign up,” stated Aveista Helmandi, public outreach coordinator for Muslim Student Association and a member of the San Fernando Valley Bernie Campaign.

“Moorpark College allows us to (be) individuals and ASMC is the best support,” Helmandi said. “(Club Rush) is perfect and it represents every club on campus.”

A couple booths down, the Enthusiastic Programmers Club were promoting themselves with maximum effort .

“We provide resources and activities for endeavoring computer science students and people interested in programming,” explained Chris Lilienthal, vice president of the organization.

The Enthusiastic Programmers Club offers members the opportunity to attend competitions, workshops and alumni talks.

Lilienthal enthusiastically explained that previous club members had gone on to become junior developers at Microsoft and Google.

“We’re open to anyone interested and whoever is looking to embark (in programming),” Lilienthal stated.

To join a student club at Moorpark College be sure to check out Clubs for Students on the school website, or follow ASMC on Instagram for more information.