Random acts of club rush

Edward+Yannaccone+%28right%29%2C+President+of+the+Philosophy+and+Cameron+Kiplinger%2C+Vice+President%2C+look+to+recruit+sophomore+mechanical+engineering+student+Luis+Garcia+%28left%29+during+Club+Rush+on+Feb.+12.+Photo+credit%3A+Richard+Lomibao

Edward Yannaccone (right), President of the Philosophy and Cameron Kiplinger, Vice President, look to recruit sophomore mechanical engineering student Luis Garcia (left) during Club Rush on Feb. 12. Photo credit: Richard Lomibao

Franchesca Walker, Co-Arts & Features Editor

Students and clubs gathered in the new quad of the Arts and Humanities and Business Technology buildings for Club Rush. Organized by ASG and the Inter Club Council (ICC), the event took place Feb. 11-12 and featured booths from The Philosophy Club, Future Leaders Club and Visionary Feminists club.

The theme for the event this semester was ‘Random act of kindness,’ where booths, such as the ASG, adorned a “Free Hugs and Kisses” banner and sold candy bags and roses.

Club Rush occurs at the start of the spring and fall semesters and aims to promote clubs on campus and recruit new members.

ICC member Kenneth Sandoval explained why ICC chose to do random acts of kindness.

“We’re trying to do a heart to heart. So on the roses we’re selling, we’re trying to do little messages that have random acts of kindness,” Sandoval said. “They may say messages for everyday persons. So when they read it, it has a special touch to their heart, and maybe they’ll do it to pass it on the street.”

The Visionary Feminists, which has been active for seven years, sought to not only recruit more members for its club, but wants to accomplish many goals. The club has already succeeded one goal since the semester began — organizing an event that discussed male privilege and what people do on a daily basis for safety.

“We asked people – without explaining what male privilege was — what they did daily specifically what they did for safety,” Rick Powell, a member of The Visionary Feminists, explained.

Powell also said, “The men had 14 (things written down), and the women ran out of room. It was really a learning experience for men to learn what women did for safety.”

Other goals the Feminist Club are looking to accomplish are a mural of slain student Diana Gonzalez, who was murdered in 2010, and open a gender equity resource center for women and LGBTQ students.

Step Up to Live Well is not only a club on campus, but an organization that is partnered with Live Well San Diego, a nonproift organization that assists elderly people and educate them about health. The club’s purpose is to educate students about health and improving it.

This semester, Step Up was able to provide more options for students in the cafeteria. Issanna Loughman, who is in Step Up and also vice president of Psi Beta, the psychology club, said the C-Store sells vegan food and there is now a smoothie bar in the cafeteria.

Cafeteria worker, Fernando Mendoza, offered samples of the some of the smoothies now available and said one of them uses kale from the garden on campus.

Other clubs that are starting this semester include Geeks United. This club offers a variety of geek culture things such as cosplay, manga, and gaming, according to member Cassandra May. Instead of creating individual clubs for each area, the starting members of Geeks United decided to intertwine all of these.