MSU’s University Activities Board is made up of students, alumni and staff who work together toward one goal — making college fun.
UAB plans events every week to give students a sense of student life on campus, and the organization recently received awards from the National Association for Campus Activities, recognizing two of its programs as some of best campus programs in 2014.
The MSU Drag Show earned the Diversity/Social Justice Program of the Year Award. The drag show featured a panel that facilitated a question and answer session to bring awareness to common issues in the LGBT community.
The second award went to the Spartan Sing Off: A Cappella Edition featuring The Filharmonic. The sing off, which gave several a cappella groups the opportunity to showcase their talents, earned the title of Innovative Program of the Year. UAB Manager Catherine Fitzpatrick said the two programs deserved the awards because they were so unique.
“We put a great deal of work into our program and have been a member (of the National Association for Campus Activities) for many years, and to get the recognition from the association and from our peers about having an outstanding program is huge,” Fitzpatrick said.
Fitzpatrick said the events UAB plans are intended to give students an opportunity to make connections in college.
“There has to be something else for students to do other than just going to class — they need to enjoy their experience on campus,” Fitzpatrick said.
The UAB has a student leadership board made up of 11 students, who each have their own committees. The committees cooperate to create events centered on what students might like and which entertainers or other guests they might want to have on campus.
Political science senior Emily Fenger said it is a great opportunity to be a part of the events and programs UAB organizes each year. She said UAB members try to do everything they can to make students’ experience on campus “awesome.”
“We want to make sure that students have the opportunity to explore new and different things and have a place to go with their friends,” Fenger said. “We strive to have things free or at a very low cost too, because we understand that college students don’t have a lot of money.”
From weekly events such as campus center cinemas, cosmic bowling, craft night and open mic night to visits from musicians and comedians, UAB hosts diverse events that provide students with a social outlet.
The recent Spartans Breaking Down Walls event UAB organized was intended to give students an opportunity to share stereotypes that have plagued them throughout their lives.
“I think that depending on the event, it will provide different things and many different outlets,” said Fenger. “These are not typical experiences that you will get by sitting in your room watching a movie.”
Fenger is proud that UAB’s efforts are being noticed.
“It’s really exciting to be recognized on a large scale like this, we all try to do our best so it really awesome to be recognized nationally,” Fenger said.
