Students scarce at Northern's Involvement Fair

Montana State University-Northern held its once-a-semester Involvement Fair Wednesday evening in the Ballroom of the Student Union Building, but while various student organizations showed up, very few Northern students stopped by to check out the clubs.

Associated Students of MSU-Nothern Vice President Riley Mortensen said the club turnout that night was more than last time, but that the "student involvement still isn't quite there."

She said she and the rest of the ASMSUN have been discussing ways to try and get more students to attend the involvement fair. She added that while the interaction between the clubs is great, they have to be able to draw in new members, as well.

Professional Agriculture Students Vice President Garrett Depner said his club is looking to add to its 16 members. He said PAS is an ag club that competes nationally and raises funds to pay for travel to the competitions.

Depner added that PAS is different from other ag clubs on Northern's campus because it also focuses on the production and technical side of the industry.

He said they also do work around the community and one of their big events last year was the Golf Scramble at Beaver Creek Golf Course.

"We're a smaller club ... but we're trying to encourage more people to join because we lose a lot of competition to Bozeman," Depner added.

Erika Anderson and Trent Cox were representing the MSU-N Ambassadors. Cox said the ambassadors are responsible for giving campus tours to prospective students and organizing the student orientations every spring and fall.

He added that they help out in the community and one of their events is the pumpkin carving they put on at North Central Senior Citizens Center in Havre.

Anderson said that the group will be helping out at next month's FFA Invitational. She added, they have nine members with two graduating this year.

"We get to pretty much reach out to everybody between orientation and stuff like that. We get to meet a lot of the students," she added, "then through a lot of the different events we get to be with the community."

"It's a fun, good experience - can't hardly call it a job," Cox said. "It's very laid back and people are good. There's really nothing bad about it."

Cole Rhodes and Paige Gaveia were representing SkillsUSA, and Gaveia said they were getting ready for their biggest competition in April.

She added that five members of SkillsUSA are competing, three of them in diesel and two in automotive. The competition is a statewide three-day long event for high schools and universities that takes place across the entire Northern campus.

"The competition gets pretty intense," Rhodes added.

Gaveia said the group meets every

Monday morning at 7:30 a.m. and they have six members.

Rhodes said the group helps out at sporting events with parking or working the concessions.

"I like to meet people and help out at the concessions," Gaveia said.

Chye Handron represented the Business Professionals Association and said since two of their members graduated last year, she is now the only member.

Handron said the club does a lot of fundraising to help pay for

them to got to national competitions. She added that since there are not enough BPA clubs in Montana, state competitions are not held. This year's nationals are being held in California.

"Yeah, so we need to do a lot of fundraising for that," she added.

The club can be found handing out raffle tickets at basketball games for people to win gym seats and a parking spot at the football stadium for next year, Handron said.

The BPA also participates in community service by cleaning up a section of the highway running through Beaver Creek Park, she added.

Jubal Pierson said Chi Alpha is part of the Campus Ministries and has about 40 members. He added that they meet every Thursday evening in the Redroom at Morgan Hall.

Pierson said the group has a few retreats they go on every semester. In fall, the group goes to Glacier National Park, and within the first two weeks of the spring semester the group goes to Dillon to mees up with other Chi Alpha groups from Montana, Wyoming, Utah and other locations.

Morgan Stamp was handing out information regarding the Multicultural Center and said the center is open for anyone to use. She added that the room is located ont he top floor of Cowan Hall.

"It's just a space where you can go in there, study, it's quiet, it's nice," Stamp added. "It's just a really nice, warm feeling you know, so it's a homey place."

Stamp said center Director Cristina Estrada-Underwood tries to put on different movies or events about different cultures. She added that in February the group showing Marvel's "Black Panther," and, later on in the month, is having a presentation on the significance of hair in African American culture.

She added that for Chinese New Year, the center showed "Crazy Rich Asians," as well.

A brand-new club at the college is the Northern Celestial Assocation. Member Grant Bowker said the group doesn't hold meetings because their whole focus is to get out and look up to the sky. Bowker, who owns a high-powered telescope, said he felt bad keeping his device all to himself and views the club as an opportunity to share it with people in the community. NCA is open to the public and plans to hold more viewing events as the weather warms up, he said.

Chase Anderson and Parker Rapp represented the Northern Collegiate Stockgrowers Association at the fair and said their group was open to people who are interested in a future in agriculture and want hands-on experience. Anderson said they are trying to establish a Farm-to School-Program that would bring locally raised meat to be served at Northern, but the project is only in the early stages.

The spring is their prep time, he added, and their main event is a meet-and-greet in the fall.