By: Dayzsha Lino

CSUDH continued Welcome Week events, with the Annual Involvement Fair put on by the Office of Student Life in the Sculpture Garden on Thursday September 6. 

The event was a chance for students to explore different clubs and organizations on campus. There were also some fun activities including a station where students could have cartoon caricatures made of themselves, as well as a photo booth, laser tattoos, and a station for “Bubble Mania” art. 

One of the organizations featured at this year’s Involvement Fair was the Rose Black Resource Center. Kenyun Rone, a psychology major, said the goal of the Rose Black Resource Center is to provide a hub for African American students to feel safe and included on campus.

“We aim to provide a safe and inclusive space for black students,” said Rone, “We also offer academic advising, free printing, (20 pgs. per week), loaner laptops, and major / career coaching.” 

The Toro Dream Success Center and CalFresh also participated in the Involvement Fair. According to Ana Miriam Barragan, Coordinator of Toro Dream, the purpose of the Toro Resource Center is to “Support undocumented students, students with mixed statuses (having one documented and one undocumented parent), and their allies” and provide them with helpful resources and ensure that they graduate at a steady pace.  

CalFresh Outreach is an organization that assists low-income individuals to buy healthy foods at low costs.  Their role on campus is to provide students who can’t afford to buy their own meals to buy the foods that they need. 

“We help students have extra money to get their groceries,” said human services major, Leslie Mendes. 

The Involvement Fair also featured some organizations that students may not have heard about, like the Mathematics club, where students who have a passion for math can get involved in mathematic-related activities, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, a club where Christians can share their love of Christ with fellow classmates, and the Clinical Science Club for students in the major who are interested in learning more about the field of clinical science while collaborating with others and earning internships. 

Many students who attended the Involvement Fair had their own ideas of what student involvement meant to them. 

Carla Patraca, a psychology major and transfer here at CSUDH said that raising your voice is one of the most important tools you can have as a college student. “Voicing my own opinion about what you want to get out of college is very important,” said Patraca. 

When Savannah Loretz, another psychology transfer was asked the same question, she answered, “Contributing to making [the] school a better place and [making it] more welcoming.”