Clubs and societies will be out in full force next week for the Golden Key Society’s Clubs & Societies Communication Week. The week full of exciting events serves as an opportunity to promote communication on-campus, demonstrate on-campus involvement, and provide students with resources that allow them to get involved.
Every day from Monday, March 20 to Saturday, March 25 there are plenty of events that are sure to pique students’ interests.
Monday
Beginning on Monday, students will be able to participate in Glow in the Dark yoga sessions at 7pm and 8pm in the Whitebone Lounge. A $10 fee is required with proceeds going towards Right to Play and the YMCA Strong Kids campaign.
“Yoga mats are provided, so you don’t even have to bring anything,” co-chair of the Golden Key Society Angela Morris says excitedly.
“There will be giving out glow sticks and there will be a blacklight and students are encouraged to wear white and other bright colours!” Morris explains.
Tuesday
Tuesday brings two events centered around communication to the campus: Let’s Talk Community and Let’s Talk Big Talk. Let’s Talk Community is an event with the Once Match Stem Cell Registry that will take place from 10am to 2pm outside of the Ganong Hall Lecture Theatre. Students will be able to get swabbed to have their DNA added to the registry.
“There are people in the world that require stem cell transplants for various diseases that they might have and there’s this international registry where they take your swabs so they have it on file,” co-chair of the Golden Key Society Luke Duffley explains. “So if you match with someone, you could potentially donate stem cells to someone.”
“The likelihood of a match is one in a million so it is very rare,” Morris adds. “So it’s very hard for patients to find a match but it is required of them that they do.”
On Tuesday night at Howler’s, Let’s Talk Big Talk will focus on personal connections and interpersonal skills. Beginning at 6pm, the event is inspired by a Tedx Talk by Kalina Silverman about skipping small talk and heading straight for the big questions.
“Basically I just want to get a bunch of students together […] and we’re just going to talk about life,” Morris says. “What does it mean to be human? What are the things you want to do before you die? What are the things that are inhibiting you from doing this?”
“We’re going to set up a bunch of balloons with different big questions and that will be the question you have to ask people that night,” Morris says regarding the formatting.
Wednesday
On Wednesday, a campus info booth will be set up outside of the Ganong Hall Lecture Theatre from 10am to 2pm. This booth, titled “Why Wait?” will be a sort-of hub for students to learn about on-campus clubs and societies.
“I polled a few of my friends and asked them to name as many clubs and societies on campus as they could and they could name maybe five or six,” Morris says. “I don’t know how many there are, but the number is definitely more than five or six!”
Thursday
Thursday brings the event that Morris is most excited about: What the University Isn’t Telling You. Taking place in Irving Hall 107 from 6:30 to 8:30, This will be particularly interesting for first and second year students as upper year students share some tips and tricks for navigating UNB Saint John.
“We have a panel of people from all disciplines that will share their advice and what they’ve learned,” Morris enthuses. “Things from academic, social, personal, career advice, that I think is valuable for first year and second year students to recognize. Because they don’t realize necessarily that there are all kinds of tips and tricks to success and if we can save them the time then I think that’s valuable.”
Morris also explains they will be sharing things such as the ability to access files saved to students’ H drive on campus through the myUNB Portal (which came as a welcome tip to this writer!) or how declaring a major increases scholarship odds.
Friday
On Friday, the Green Society will be hosting two events: Earth Hour preparation and Sandwiches and Sunsets. The Earth Hour preparation will consist of information on Earth Hour and supplies to prepare such as candles, books, and hot chocolate. It will take place from 10am to 2pm.
Sandwiches and Sunsets will be a nature walk at Rockwood Park beginning outside Lily Lake Pavillion at 5:15pm. Students interested in catching a carpool can meet at the security office at 5pm.
“You do need to bring your own sandwiches, but we will be providing granola bars and snacks,” Morris says. “And we’re just going to go to Rockwood Park, learn about nature, be with nature, and just have a good time!”
Saturday
The African Caribbean Society and Multicultural Society are running Afrofest ‘17 on Saturday night from 6:30pm to 10pm. Tickets are $10 for students, $15 for sign-ins and the event takes place at the YMCA Community Center. Tickets are available through the web or at the door.
“It’s really just a celebration of cultures with a red carpet and a show involved with an after-party,” Morris says, noting that the after-party runs until 2am.
Duffley is also excited for the week and says that he wishes this week existed for him over the past few years.
“There’s an abundance of clubs and societies here at UNB Saint John and over my four years, I’ve found out about more and more each year. And now that I’m in my fourth year, I’m learning about more that I would have loved to have been a part of,” Duffley says. “The lack of communication between groups and between everyone in general has made it hard to learn what’s going on. So I think having a week like this to bring everyone together is important so people can learn what’s out there.”
“We think it’s good for students going forward to know what’s available to them.”
More information about Communication Week can be found on the Golden Key Society’s Facebook page.
