Moorpark College hosted their annual Fall Club Rush on Sept. 24 and 25, extending the opportunity for students to develop a sense of belonging on campus, meet new people and earn free food.
Many student organizations, including Latinx Club, Circle K International, and Hiking Club lined Raider Walk with eye-catching poster boards, candies, chips and other interesting knickknacks tailored to students. Several clubs also returned to campus after a brief absence, eager to garner interest and share their mission.
Communications Club, which had not been active since 2019, was relaunched this year by Luke Gonzales, a second-year communications major at Moorpark College.
Gonzales, the president of the Communications Club, has been involved in several clubs during his educational career and cited his participation as one of the reasons for wanting to start a club himself.
“I thought it’d be a great idea to start my own club to give different people an opportunity,” Gonzales explained. “I wanted to give other people a voice and opportunity that I didn’t have last year because I was looking for a communications club myself and I wasn’t able to join, so I thought, ‘I might as well take initiative and start it myself.'”
Gonzales went on to speak about communications being an applicable interest that can be helpful and transferrable to other majors.
“Communication is an essential part of life and speaking and understanding language is something that can benefit everyone,” Gonzales said. “So, no matter what major you are, I think that being in communications can definitely benefit you.”
One of the most well-known clubs at Club Rush was Nature’s Finest Club, an organization that has been active on campus since 2015.
Being perfectly situated in the intersection of the event – coupled with an intricate booth setup – caught the attention of students walking by. Nature’s Finest Club’s booth consisted of an elaborate layout with a banner, a poster board collage, a few pumpkins and a bucket with their own clay which they used to make seed bombs.
It all tied together with Amaal Bhola, a third-year Moorpark College student majoring in chemistry, managing the booth dressed as a scarecrow, including face paint and a straw hat.
She gave her thoughts on the importance of having in-person events like Club Rush, comparing the sign-up success gained when putting up a poster as opposed to having a booth to walk up to and check out.
“To be able to actually make something and see, ‘Oh, okay cool! This is what we’ll be doing in the garden itself.’ That was super helpful. Actually, that’s part of what got me involved,” Bhola said.
Bhola also talked about what it’s like to be part of Nature’s Finest Club and having people around to share the experience with.
“One of the biggest parts of what we do is just talk and chat and have fun together,” Bhola said. “It’s not even so much in my opinion about the gardening, it’s being able to be with one another and sort of learn stuff together and grow together.”
Club Rush was organized by Associated Students of Moorpark College Director of Student Organizations, Nora Barakat. Barakat, a second-year communications major, had been active in multiple clubs last year, working with ASMC regularly. In light of her positive experience, she felt compelled to run for a board position to be more hands-on with the planning.
“I love clubs, they just make you realize that your campus is so much more than just studying. You feel connected with groups [and] people that relate to your hobbies,” she said.
Barakat also shared insight into planning Club Rush to ensure that students got the most out of the event and were given incentives.
“The way for them to get the ice cream is they have to go to clubs and student services to receive a signature,” Barakat explained. “So, it inspires them to even look more into clubs, and if they are ending up being interested, they end up signing up.”
Fall Club Rush continues to give students a chance to learn about the different communities within Moorpark College as well as the opportunities for growth and learning that the clubs offer. To view Moorpark College’s list of active clubs, click here.
