“Sparticipation is one of the few events on campus that I can think of that truly engages every single entity of this campus whether it's the president's office, provost's office, IPF, the colleges, the student organizations, the student leaders. Nobody is untouched by this event,” Associate Director in the office of Spartan Experiences Tammye Coles said

Sparticipation was originally named 'Party at the AUD'. Here, students could display ways to become involved on campus and in the greater Lansing community; but over time the event changed as the student body did too.

“The event is probably almost 30 years old in terms of the concept of a student involvement and engagement fair,” Coles said

As time passed, a discussion for a new name for the event was in talks to better represent the idea behind it.

Then, a graduate student named Dr. Reg Motley took matters into his own hands and brainstormed possible names, eventually landing on Sparticipation. 

“The whole premise behind the event is to have students be engaged and involved, which they’re participating in if you will in different events, hence the name,” Coles said

The label stuck and has been a staple at the university since. 

“Everybody knows that the Tuesday before Fall welcome starts, the place to be is Cherry Lane Field where we host the sparticipation event as a part of spartan spectacular,” Coles said

Sparticipation can have a direct impact on anyone who attends. Whether you're looking to get involved or hoping to engage others, this is a way to succeed in both. 

“As a Freshman in 2019, this was one of the first events I attended,” Senior and President of Spartans Involved in Community Service Daniella Bond said. “It was a great opportunity to see Michigan State as a place other than just somewhere to go to classes. It's a place to get involved and get to know other students. This was a great introduction at the beginning of the school year for a person who just moved to campus and didn't know anything”

It’s not solely for new students – anyone can attend the event. Regardless of age or year at the university, there’s something for everyone to get engaged.

“Sparticipation has had a huge impact on me. I've gone every year, even my Sophomore year when it was virtual, but Freshman year especially it was just so great to be able to talk to people about the kinds of things they were involved in and to learn more about different opportunities,” Senior Caitlin Finerty, the Director of Marketing at ASMSU said.

This year’s fair will take place on Aug. 30 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. while the Spartan Spirit event will start at 7:30 p.m. followed by a movie night at Spartan Stadium. 

Although MSU is made up of over 1,000 student organizations, there’s only room for 600 or so at the event. 

“We’re going to be advertising our club and introducing ourselves to new members. We will have a table with posters and give students the opportunity to get to know us and find other ways to get involved at MSU,” Bond said.

“This year we have over 80 departments and sponsors.,” Coles said. “It’s a first come first serve basis. Students can come and participate as spaces open up.”

Registration is currently closed, but MSU clubs can reach out to the Office of Spartan Experience and look online at fallwelcome.msu.edu for more information. Make a point to show up early to the event if interested in hosting a booth, as it's a possibility student groups who preregistered won’t show. 

“ASMSU is an annual sponsor of Sparticipation, and that gives us a little bit more space and the ability to show off what we do and how we do it,” Finerty said. “This year. We're also really excited to bring back representatives from the Princeton Review.

Other events than of the Spartan Spectacular include Spartan Olympics, game nights and UAB’s UFest.

This may be the last year Sparticipation will be held at the beloved Cherry Lane Field due to the new student recreation center that is in the process of being built.

“We are in the process of working on where it will be moved to. We're pretty sure it’s going to end up being a block party in between two buildings on campus. The event will absolutely not go away, it will just be in a different area to make way for the progression needed for the new recreation facility” Coles said.

Despite minor changes over the years, it’s clear that this MSU tradition will be put on for years to come. 

“Sparticipation is a special event for many people and ends up being a huge footprint in many Spartan’s lives,” Coles said. “It’s one of my favorite events to support and certainly is an event that many people have helped grow to the fantastic event that we see today.”