Join a Club, join a Cause, join a Service, Join an Art Form, join a Community-- Join the Fun

Join a Club, join a Cause, join a Service, Join an Art Form, join a Community-- Join the Fun

By Mary Jane Dellafiora

One thing new Aggies may find intimidating is the size of the place. It’s a large student body on a large campus with a large array of possible majors. But the result is a diverse, various environment that provides its members with opportunities to take part in activities and organizations related to every interest and avocation imaginable through an organization or club. This provides students with access to the university at large, via a smaller avenue through which they make friends, develop life and career skills and enrich their Aggie life by reaching beyond the classroom.

The names of the club and organizations evoke visions of fantastic beasts--Golden Turtle Lion Dance, Lounge Lizards and Racing Dragons. Then there are those that remind us of precious pets--Orphan kittens, Puppy Pals or Doggo (and Me.)

Their names seem to take to describe how students take to the sky through the Aviation Club, the Drone Club or Aeronautics and Astronautics. Or take in a “bird’s eye view” (but of what exactly?) through clubs named Biology OWL , Birdstrike or the Wacky Flamingo?

What do the organizations do that have “infrastructure-type” names—Concrete Canoe, Steel Bridge: Team Chrome Ollie? And do clubs like the Liquid Hotplates or the Spokes have anything to do with cooking or biking?

Then, of course, you have the pop music group names—Heartstringz, 27 Heartbeats (or ONE Heartbeat), AfterGlow and DEVO (?). And what about the more rambunctious sounding Melee Club or the Cleftomaniacs? We also can  consider the classical pursuits of Historical Fencing, Marksmanship—and yes, the straightforwardly named Classical Society. 

What do each of these groups promote? 

To find out, encourage your students to visit aggielife.ucdavis.edu and click on “Organizations” then scroll through the 850 clubs and organizations to see what sparks your interest. Or use the filtering tool to narrow the field and find that choice. Your students will find an abundance of organizations concerning everything--science, medicine, law, community service, wine and beer making, veterinary science, dance, music, gaming, recreation (both indoor and outdoor), sports, publications, literature, politics, international cultures, religions, languages, art, design, fashion, fraternities, sororities, honor and professional societies. 

Clubs and organizations are just one way to get involved. The university has various student-run governmental and university-serving organizations that are student-run or involve student employees and volunteers. 

Go to both the AggieLife link and the Center for Student Involvement at csi.ucdavis.edu to explore all the ways in which a student can become more active in the UC Davis community. Enter your interests and what you’d like to find in a club or organization and have the “Involvement Calculator” tool link you up with possible organizations, clubs and academic associations that will provide many benefits. The site also explains these benefits (and provides supportive encouragement for those seeking “to find themselves” in a large, diverse community. 

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