If Mario and Luigi were walking through Free Speech Alley on Wednesday, they would have felt right at home with groups such as Tiger Uppercut, a video game club, and the Mustache Advocacy Network present at the Student Organization Fair.
The Center for Student Leadership and Involvement hosts the fair each year to get students interested in different organizations.
One participant, the Mustache Advocacy Network, aims to “bring back the ‘stache one man at a time,” said group President Reid Tepfer.
The organization was around this past semester, but not as an official group. It serves as a support group for men trying to grow mustaches. Some women signed up once they recognized it was a support group, not a growth group.
Tepfer said the project idea is to “Grow Mustaches for Tots,” which will raise money for an orphanage in New Orleans.
Tiger Uppercut, a social club for video gamers, is another new organization on campus. President Gary Navo said the club plans to compete in video gaming tournaments across the country. The club meets once a week for Guitar Hero competitions and Super Smash Bros. tournaments.
“We began with five people, but today more than 50 people [have] signed up,” Navo said.
Chase Williams, landscape architecture freshman, stopped pedaling to math lab and signed up for the Triathlon Club.
“I run, I bike and I swim a little,” he said. “I think it’s cool because this is my hobby and didn’t know there was a club for it at LSU.”
David Lane, Triathlon Club president, sat on his bike atop a table on Tower Drive to promote the club. He said a handful of members competed in the USA National Championship, a national biking championship in Tuscaloosa, Ala., this past year. He said the group hopes to bring more people to the competition this year and to participate in tri-sports regardless of experience.
Students also had the chance to learn about organizations that have been at the University for years.
Shital Patel, group coordinator for Amnesty International, said the organization is the largest international grassroots human rights organization in the world. It hosts 1.8 million members in more than 150 countries, but Patel said the campus organization had less than 20 members this past year.
Circle K International, a service organization in 26 countries, has been at the University for 30 years. President Kelly Palisi said the group, which helps underprivileged children with literacy skills, works closely with Habitat for Humanity, a home-building service organization.
While students have the option to participate in service projects with these clubs, another campus organization requires a different type of dedication.
The LSU Rowing Club trains five days a week, said University alumna and coach Carolyn Day. Members row three times a week and work out the other two days, she said.
Day said the club plans to have about 70 members this semester and attend three races – one in Austin, Texas, another in Chattanooga, Tenn. and a 26.2-mile row in Natchitoches.
“It’s a pretty intense group, almost like a full-time job,” said Sajid Qadri, biological engineering sophomore.
—Contact Natalie Messina at [email protected]