This year’s Activities Fair was part of the Bison Refresh event that took place during the first weekend of the semester, Aug. 28 and 29. The event included musical performances by A$AP Ferg and Two Friends, as well as an Activities Fair attended by a wide variety of student organizations. 

While previous fairs were geared mainly towards first-year students and held during orientation, this year’s timing allowed students from all class years to enjoy festivities.

“We wanted to move Activities Unlimited out of Orientation so that all students could attend,” Director of Campus Activities and Student Media Brent Papson said. “This was especially important after COVID disrupted student involvement last year.” 

Normally the Activities Fair is an outdoor event where clubs and organizations each have a booth where they can promote themselves to students. This year, due to rain, the event was held indoors. That wasn’t the only difference; 12 local food trucks offered free tickets redeemable for a meal and dessert to all students who attended. 

Throughout the evening students could be seen lining up and catching up with friends whom they hadn’t seen since last semester. At times, lines for food trucks spanned halfway across the parking lot. 

“I loved the food trucks at the activities fair,” Haley Scopelliti ’23 said. “It was so cute.” 

Inside the Gerhard Fieldhouse, tables were lined up with a variety of on and off-campus opportunities. The clubs and organizations ranged from an academic focus, such as the Society of Women Engineers, to cultural ones, like the South Asian Student Association. There were also community service-based organizations, like Dance Marathon and just-for-fun ones, like ‘Nell Party, the University’s stand-up comedy club. 

“I did not realize there were this many clubs at Bucknell, and I’m excited to join some,” Hannah Schultheis ’24 said. 

For students who missed out on the activities fair but want more information on the clubs and organizations in attendance, the “IN Network” is a comprehensive resource for all organizations on campus.

“It was cool. I liked the diversity of the different clubs,” Stanley Gai ’25 said.

The planning for the Bison Refresh event started in late spring of this year. After living with COVID, the CAP Center, along with the Division of Student Affairs, Public Safety, Facilities, Dining Services and the Office of Events Management, wanted to create an exciting first weekend back where students could connect with other students. 

The CAP Center has a host of events planned for this semester including Bingo Blingo which will be held on Aug. 3.