Seeing the free stuff being passed out on the lawn next to the Matador Bookstore Complex, junior Diana Ta decided to go check it out. What she found was the 4th annual Associated Students Fair.
‘I learned a lot,’ Ta said. ‘I didn’t know anything about the Children Care or the Recycling Center. I’d heard about the ticket office but hadn’t really known anything about it.’
The A.S. Fair was held Wednesday to promote A.S. and the organizations and services that A.S. provides. Kevin Mojaradi, a staff member in charge of marketing and public relations, said the fair is a good way to educate students on those organizations and services.
‘It’s our chance to let students be aware of what we offer and give them stuff,’ Mojaradi said. ‘It’s getting A.S. out there.’
Booths at the fair included Student Government, Children’s Care, the Recycling Center, A.S. Accounting and the ticket office. The event takes four months to plan, beginning in April of the previous year. Although it is a lot of work for the A.S. Visibility Committee, they find it worthwhile once the fair has taken place.
‘The motivation is the fact that we’re doing this for the students,’ Mojaradi said. ‘It helps us out a lot.’
v ‘We have a big enough budget to do a greater event but we try to put a limit on what it looks like,’ Mojaradi said. ‘Instead of spending the money on decorations we spend it on more supplies to give students. The extra money goes back into the marketing budget to give more supplies to students throughout the year.’
A big component of the fair is bringing awareness to the different services and organizations offered by A.S. like Accounting and Financial Services.
‘We’re handing our fliers to make clubs and organizations aware they can get money,’ said Accounts Payable Technician Jessica Kemmerer. ‘So far (the fair) has been alright. We’ll see what happens when they come running into our office. We hope they will come by.’
Freshman Brittne Walsh decided to come to the fair on a whim. She said she enjoyed attending the fair and it helped her to feel more prepared to handle her time in college.
‘It’s handy to be able to go around and get all the information in one place,’ Walsh said. ‘I love that the school puts this on because I don’t think I would find all this information on my own. I now know more about the way the campus works.’
Mojaradi said A.S. thinks students are very important. The A.S. Fair was meant to equip the students with information and free stuff that will help them throughout the year.
‘That’s our main message this year, for it to be all about the students and not about us,’ Mojaradi said.
Ta said she felt like the fair was a good way to spend her time.
‘I feel like I’m more connected to the school instead of it being a commuter school,’ Ta said. ‘I think it’s a good experience and has good information that you don’t really know until you stop to listen.’
