Thursday, September 16, 2004
Club Madness
We had the club fair on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. They split it into two days so that the RC (which means required curriculum, but think first year) students could all attend. My section was designated to go on Thursday. I was immediately overwhelmed when I walked in the Meredith Room in Spangler. That was the smaller of the two rooms, and it was packed wall to wall with tables and students. There were various RC's listening or waiting in line in front of clubs such as the Asian Business Club, Harvard Islamic Club, etc. I quickly decided to avoid this madness and head down to the larger room where it was surely more organized and sedate.
Not so, the considerably larger Williams Room was also packed, although here you could stand in the middle and get some space to yourself. Several of the more popular clubs had lines ranging from 2-10 deep. I circled the room glancing at the various banners and displays about three times before I even talked to anyone. All of the clubs carry price tags of around $25 for one year and $35-50 for two. The benefits of joining are nebulous, and after speaking with several clubs I couldn't figure out what they would even use the membership fees for, besides a t-shirt. While I'm a big fan of t-shirts, this seemed kind of silly to me. I decided the best course of action was just to collect information now and decide at a later point whether or not I would join.
I ended up e-mailing a 2nd year that I play Ultimate Frisbee with and he advised me that my hunches were correct, most clubs are a wash, since they open their cool events to the whole campus. So, I think I will narrow myself down to a few clubs: Negotiation, Investment, and Texas. The first one is to work on a skill that I find incredibly useful, though I need lots of improvement. The second one is my likely future vocation, plus I have to join in order to take part in the HBS Hedge Fund, which I think will be interesting. Finally, the Texas Club is a no-brainer.
Not so, the considerably larger Williams Room was also packed, although here you could stand in the middle and get some space to yourself. Several of the more popular clubs had lines ranging from 2-10 deep. I circled the room glancing at the various banners and displays about three times before I even talked to anyone. All of the clubs carry price tags of around $25 for one year and $35-50 for two. The benefits of joining are nebulous, and after speaking with several clubs I couldn't figure out what they would even use the membership fees for, besides a t-shirt. While I'm a big fan of t-shirts, this seemed kind of silly to me. I decided the best course of action was just to collect information now and decide at a later point whether or not I would join.
I ended up e-mailing a 2nd year that I play Ultimate Frisbee with and he advised me that my hunches were correct, most clubs are a wash, since they open their cool events to the whole campus. So, I think I will narrow myself down to a few clubs: Negotiation, Investment, and Texas. The first one is to work on a skill that I find incredibly useful, though I need lots of improvement. The second one is my likely future vocation, plus I have to join in order to take part in the HBS Hedge Fund, which I think will be interesting. Finally, the Texas Club is a no-brainer.
