The scene at the 2022 Spring Involvement Fair on campus this February 3rd was on par with what anyone who has been on campus in the past would expect. There were a number of tables representing a wide range of interests and activities, and students browsed the aisles for an opportunity that caught their attention.

For an event that can seriously impact a student’s time on campus, the Involvement Fair seemed even more important to some organizations who missed out due to COVID limitations in previous semesters.

“Last semester we didn’t attend the Involvement Fair, which hurt our recruiting numbers immensely. My freshman year we had two traveling teams, an ‘A’ team and a ‘B’ team, upwards of 45 members, now we’re down to 18,” says a Junior who is a member of the Men’s Ultimate Frisbee team here at UWW Andrew DeFrates.

Many of the implications from the pandemic that affected these clubs are deeper than just the Involvement Fair participation and fewer students on campus. DeFrates also pointed out that COVID restrictions have made it so rooms cannot have as many people in them. In effect, travel costs blow up for the club. This represents just one more dilemma in the great recruiting race.

These bumps in the road are felt most by the newest organizations on campus who have less of an established reputation that may organically bring in extra students for the organizations with more years in existence. Phi Delta Theta is the newest fraternity on campus as they were established only five years ago.

“Our recruitment events, you know, we can’t really do crazy things. Our biggest event had to be outside, and it was a cookout but we had to limit some things. Other fraternities are also struggling with that, I know one had to move their event online due to some COVID scares. So it’s not affecting just us, it’s affecting every organization honestly,” says the representative from Phi Delta Theta Brandon.

The Involvement Fair represents optimism and opportunity for students looking to make the most of their college experience. Restrictions being lifted and a better understanding of COVID has injected a new sense of excitement into some organizations. Creative responses to these organizations’ difficult times will hopefully draw strong recruiting numbers for all clubs and organizations involved.

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