For incoming freshmen, the Student Activities Mart is a one-stop shop for all things concerning student life. With a total of 700 student organizations at MU, only a few have the opportunity to be promoted at the mart. For smaller organizations, this can be quite an advantage.
During the first day of Summer Welcome, incoming freshmen break from their small groups and get a personal invitation to see a handful of MU’s many organizations. The Student Activities Mart is located in the lower level of the MU Student Center where organizations have set up booths to welcome potential new members. Each organization finds creative ways to stand out among the crowd and attract students.
Summer Welcome organizes the Mart and has a sign up for organizations that are interested in being promoted. During the Mart, a representative from each organization is always present to talk to students and their parents. He or she explains the purpose of the organization, their activities, and how to receive more information. The representative tries to persuade the incoming student to become a part of their organization, usually with a little help from fliers or free gifts, Caitlin Kerfin, president of the Mizzou Religious Newswriters Association, said.
“Candy is a must for us,” Kerfin said. “We weren’t located in the best spot, so fliers, a big banner with our name and mints worked to attract students to our table.”
The purpose of the mart is to get students involved by showing them the variety of options MU has to offer, Brianne Noltie, Little Sister of the Gold Rose rush chair, said in an email.
“Summer Welcome is a great place for us to grab the attention of incoming freshmen because they are all so open to joining new groups because it’s their first year,” Noltie said. “They all want to get involved, and it helps that we are there and putting our names out there, so then they will know who we are and what we are about so then they can join as well.”
Courtney Soule of Terror Mizzou, the women’s Ultimate Frisbee team, said smaller organizations have had a harder time standing out from the crowd of larger organizations, because it is difficult to compete with large organizations that have more publicity, popularity and recognition. Participating in the mart allows them a better opportunity to compete for new members, she said.
“Because there are so many big organizations on campus that have a lot of advertising, the smaller ones get overlooked by the overwhelmed freshmen,” Soule said. “(The mart) at least gives smaller orgs a chance to be seen and hopefully remembered.”
The way to be remembered is all in the presentation, Mizzou Men’s Lacrosse team member Grant Pieper said. The mart allows for organizations to start personal interactions with new potential members and to explain the organization.
“Getting information out to incoming freshmen has always been a problem for our organization and (this) has really gotten us in front of them,” Pieper said. “It’s also really cool to get to know them face-to-face, not just over an email or something like that.”
Building new relationships with potential members can mean much more than just gaining members for smaller organizations, Humans vs. Zombies member Joe Rexwinkle said.
“If membership is coming in from freshmen, that helps provide a future for an organization as members may stay for four years,” Rexwinkle said. “Senior members tend to graduate and disappear, leaving an organization without leadership.”
For smaller organizations, the Student Activities Mart has already set a good record for gaining both recognition and new members.
“Our Summer Welcome turnout is always better (than) our school year turnout, because this is when students are open to anything,” Noltie said.
