Hitting the Club(s)

If the dining hall’s bright light, spilling out onto dark Main Street wasn’t a clue, then the hum of music from mini speakers and “Over here!” shouts gave it away: Something fun was happening in the dining hall.

Club Fair was in full effect the evening of September 16, with crowds of students weaving table to table listening to friends pitch them on why their affinity group or organization is one they should join this year.

“This is a really fun event because everyone gets to showcase their passions and the things that they're interested in and invest their time in,” said Associate Director of Student Affairs Cora MacKenzie of the student-run fest. “It brings people together as a community and is just a really awesome opportunity to showcase everything that students are offering.”

Nearly 40 different groups, organizations and activities are available to students throughout the year at Brooks — and the clubs can change each year depending on students’ interests and initiative.

And while well-established groups, including Alianza Latina, Amnesty International, Black Student Union and Model United Nations were represented at the fair, a contingent of first-time clubs made their debut during the hour-long, open-house style gathering.

“We're still figuring everything out,” admitted Alder Hurley ’27, who sat beside a propped-up poster board advertising the “Dungeons & Dragons” group. “But I hope we get enough people so that we can keep doing this and people stay interested and committed.”

Four minutes into the fair and three people had already signed up.  

Following the scent of McDonald’s chicken nuggets across the room, students could find representatives for another new club, “Food Around the World.” Hugh Foster ’26 explained that he and a group of his friends began the club to “expand Brooks students’ palettes and explore new cultures.”

“We want to bring Indian and Argentinian food to Brooks,” said Foster. “We want to meet one Sunday and get big family-sized dishes of food. We haven't decided which yet.”

At the “Cards for Comfort” club table nearby, Kate Yannetti ’26 and Kate Rocchio ’26 were also offering an idea that was new to Brooks — but not to Yannetti.

“I did a summer internship at Salem Hospital and got to see the cards that people had written to patients being received,” she said. “It was super interesting to see the impact it had on people, so we wanted to do it at Brooks, too.”

Learn more about student life on the Living at Brooks page.