Cotton candy, laughter, popcorn, beanbag toss games and a mechanical bull ride can only mean one thing: creating traditions at the University of Oregon. This year the Student Activities and Resource Center was able to host their very first carnival at the UO and provide the opportunity for students to relax and take pride in their school.
This is SARC’s first year and so far they have been able to organize various activities including the carnival, Mallard Madness and homecoming — just to name a few.
SARC has two main components that consist of student activities and a resource center for student groups.
On the student activities side, events are put together such as the spring carnival and the Matt Knight Classic Basketball tournament. While on the resource center side, equipment is checked out to student groups at no charge.
The popcorn machine is an excellent example. It was donated by Club Sports since they rarely used it. SARC can check it out to any student group recognized by ASUO at no charge.
SARC’s most well known and popular event is weekly entertainer Ducks After Dark, which offer movies and free food to students. Each activity by SARC falls into three categories: Ducks After Dark, Duck spirit — which is responsible for Homecoming — and concert coordinator, which plans concerts like Mallard Madness and launching the first annual spring carnival held May 2. All these activities work together to enhance student life on campus.
“We want students to engage in these activities and start new annual traditions on campus,” SARC’s marketing coordinator Gregor Cunningham said. “I think what were doing is exciting and it’s going to continue as a legacy.”
While SARC works tirelessly to start new traditions and engage the student body it also works hard to give back to the student groups. As part of it’s second component SARC focuses on trying to provide essential resources to student groups who may not be able to get a hold of them.
For an example a program that SARC wants to launch is a workshop on how to plan an event and the steps that it takes to have a successful event. From planning to reserving the room, SARC hopes to host these workshops to provide support for those who struggle with planning events or may not know how to go about it.
“SARC would like to start a training program to help student groups plan events on campus,” said Mandy Chong, a student activities coordinator . “Every student organization functions in a different way and we want to offer helpful tips that helps them and create plan management.”
Although SARC has only had one year, they have been able to juggle the various activities and are continuing to plan events for next year. One of it’s main goals this year was to build student traditions beyond just the football games but continue it all throughout the year.
“SARC is vital to enhancing the student experience on campus, and the ability to build a foundation for future generations was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up,” chair student activities board Zan Schindler said.