With the new school year beginning, the UVU Student Association (UVUSA) has been hard at work planning interesting and fun activities. Student Body President Richard Portwood has stated that the whole purpose of student activities is to increase student involvement and provide a well-rounded college experience. Their goal is to get students involved, “not only in the classroom but outside [it] as well,” Portwood said. To reach that goal, UVUSA has planned activities that can be classified into four main themes.
The first falls under the category of fun activities. The goal is to provide students with entertainment and “a break from their studies,” Portwood said.
Such activities include the mtvU Campus Invasion Tour, featuring the popular band 30 Seconds to Mars and local band Neon Trees. The event will be held Sept. 25 at the Brent Brown Ballpark. Another concert, featuring B.O.B., Jason Derulo, Iyaz and Auburn, is planned for Oct. 12.
For students with children, there will be a Halloween kids night on Oct. 25. There will also be a Halloween dance on Oct. 30 that will be held in the Sorensen Student Center.
Along with providing a mental break, future activities are also geared towards service. UVUSA, working closely with the Service-Learning Center, has planned various activities that encourage students to fulfill their civic duties. On Sept. 15 and 16, there will be a service fair in the Hall of Flags that will inform students of the various ways they can serve locally and internationally.
Make a Difference Day will be held on Oct. 23. Students will be able to participate in a campus-wide day of service. There will also be blood drives held on Sept. 8 and Oct. 27. Leading up to Thanksgiving, there will be food drives to help local food banks. There will also be sub-for-Santa activities near Christmas.
Other activities come from UVUSA?s platform for 2010-11 and deal directly with loyalty and pride in the university. According to that platform, UVUSA has “Form[ed] a Traditions Committee with campus groups [that will] identify and encourage school pride and traditions.”
Improving the True Wolverine Night scheduled for Oct. 7 has been a goal for UVUSA. The following day will be the Miss UVU pageant, where current Miss UVU Valerie Moon will pass her crown to the next winner.
All of these activities are aimed at providing a well-rounded college experience. Still, UVUSA has not forgotten the purpose of UVU, which is to provide quality education. They have planned activities that deal directly with academics.
UVUSA, specifically Vice President of Academics Chris Loumeau, has scheduled various speakers and debates that are aimed to enhance the educational experience of students. The ?rst speaker will be Pulitzer Prize winning author and presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin on Sept. 16. Her book, No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home ront in World War II, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1995. Her most recent book, Team Of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, is a New York Times best seller. The next speaker, Erin Gruwell, will be featured on Oct. 26. Gruwell is the leader of the Freedom Writers Foundation and the inspiration for the Hollywood blockbuster Freedon Writers, starring Hilary Swank. UVUSA has worked diligently at planning and arranging these activities and has done it to help create a positive university environment.
Portwood said it best when he explained that all of the activities are meant to “ensure [that] every student is having an exceptional experience here at UVU.”
