Another 90-degree day Friday did not stop this year’s Involvement Fest on LSU’s campus, near Azalea Hall.
One of the newest clubs out was LS-Fur-U club dedicated to people who enjoy the furry community and enjoy expressing themselves in a safe place.
These students, know their community is looked down upon, and they hope that by starting their club, they’ll be able to change people’s negative perceptions.
Spoon University is a nationwide organization that has expanded to LSU’s campus this year. Spoon University is an online publication that shares a passion for food, whether it’s highlighting food spots in Baton Rouge, sharing recipes or bringing a community of food lovers together.
Jillian Elliott, editorial manager, and Macie Billings, marketing manager, are working to bring the food culture of the city to more students.
“I think what’s really cool about Spoon University is that it’s going to be one of those clubs that if you want to give it your all, we’ll take it, and if you’re busy, I’ll take what you have,” Elliott said. “It’s one of those clubs where you get what you put into it.”
Elliott said that the club is super low maintenance and that they’re just excited to create a community on campus, whatever that means for people in their everyday lives.
Also at Involvement Fest were Elizabeth Steindorf, and Zahra Naeini spreading the word The Global Surgery Student Alliance.
Promoting, “We focus on health disparities between the US and other countries and also highlight the gap in quality of care in underprivileged communities,” Steindorf said. “We have guest speakers that come, and they go to countries like Uzbekistan or other places that do not have the healthcare that we have here in the U.S., and we are organizing service events with Our Lady of the Lake. But we are pre-health oriented.”
Steindorf and Naeini have been working to bring more awareness of global health to campus since the club’s founding in October 2022.
“Right now, we are going on a trip to Panama for a medical outreach,” Naeini said. “But we are also looking for people who are pre-dental, pre-vet and other people that are interested in global health to be a team leader.”
She explained that a team leader would organize a team and go to other countries for dental, veterinary and global health trips.
The Girls Club offers opportunities for women looking to work in the sports field.
Bailey Walker, treasurer, and Carly Itzel, social media chair, were out encouraging women that a job in a male-dominated field is possible.
“We are a group that is focused on women in a male-dominated field, and give them an opportunity to work in sports and pursue what they are passionate about,” Itzel said. “Now it’s more possible than ever for women working in sports.”
They provide networking opportunities and career-building within the sports industry. They also do workshops and participate in conferences so women explore their true passion.
Next to the Girls Club was the National Council of Negro Women.
“The National Council of Negro Women was founded to promote Black women’s families and communities,” president Rachel Sheppard said. “It has turned into an organization that promotes financial literacy, education, entrepreneurship and economic stability.”
Lemon Racing was also out showing what they are all about. By using Italian ice cups as paperweights, they demonstrate that typical garbage can be recycled and used for another purpose.
Joseph Hosford and the team is working to fix a run-down 1966 Dodge Coronet on a $500 budget. Their goal is to get it racing for 24 hours straight.
“We have to do whatever we can, as cheap as we can, to make it work,” Hosford said. “I’ve taken aluminum cans, flattened them out, and have cut them to the right shape for parts on the car, and they’ve worked.”
Hosford hopes the club will not only attract engineering students but also welcome students of every major.
A banner reads "Spoon University" on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, at the Involvement Fair near Azalea Hall on LSU's campus.
