On June 17, rising freshmen strolled through UNC Wilmington’s Student Recreation Center, eager to learn about the variety of student organizations they’ll be able to join in the fall. This student organization fair is held one evening of each session of freshman orientation.

 

Many student-led groups set up tables with posters and flyers, with hopes that the rising freshmen would stop to ask for more information or sign up for the club’s email list.

 

However, the UNCW Stage Company took an alternative approach to tabling. Liz Bernardo and Nick Reed acted out fight scenes to attract attention to their table.

 

 “In the three days that we did it, we’ve had about 30 people sign up,” Reed said.

 

Though the Stage Company tables at freshman orientation sessions and at the Involvement Carnival in the fall, they also use social media to spread the word about their club.

 

“We have a blog, a Twitter, and a Facebook,” Reed said. “The blog is for people who are really interested, to get a deeper idea of what we do.”

 

The Gymnastics Club also saw more potential than in posters and flyers.  Gymnasts did handstands in front of their table to capture people’s attention.

 

Paris Tindal, a rising senior, joined Gymnastics Club as a freshman, and began tabling as a sophomore.

 

 “Out of 20 people who come through, we might keep three,” Tindal said.

 

Though the majority of Gymnastics Club members join because of friends who are already involved in the club or because they had prior experience, Tindal finds tabling worthwhile.

 

“We definitely put ourselves out there,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun. When you actually get someone to sign, you feel like you’re doing something right.”

 

For more information on UNCW student organizations, visit http://uncw.edu/studentorgs.