Join the Club

On a sunny Friday afternoon in September, more than 100 student groups and community organizations set up tables on the Great Lawn for Mac’s annual Involvement Fair.

• African Music Ensemble: The African Music Ensemble provides the fair’s soundtrack. Celebrating its 35th season, the group performs music primarily from Ghana through song, drums, and a variety of other instruments.
• Forensics: A gleaming 1987 tournament trophy draws visitors to the table—and signals a strong commitment from new director of forensics Beau Larsen to sustain the program’s longstanding success. This year, students will compete in the following forensics competitions: mock trial, moot court, ethics bowl, bioethics bowl, and debate.
• Community Partners: More than 30 community partners—including Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, Regions Hospital/HealthPartners, and St. Paul Public Library—highlighted opportunities for civic engagement in the Twin Cities.
• Cooking and Eating Club: “Low commitment! High return! (…Food, duh)” The Cooking and Eating Club promises themed potlucks, Pancake Sundays, and cookoffs.
• Outing Club: Although the organization is beloved for its fall and spring break camping trips, Rhys O’Higgins ’24 (Madison, Wis.) says new plans are also in the works for small excursions like plant  identification-themed outings, day trips to local parks, and walks down to the Mississippi.
• Mac Quidditch: With more than 400 college teams nationwide, Quidditch is a fan-made, all-gender sport that now stands intentionally separate from the Harry Potter series that inspired it. “It’s a mix of rugby, Ultimate Frisbee, and dodgeball with an extra pinch of creativity—an active game for players of all athletic backgrounds and identities to engage with competitive play on the collegiate level,” says captain Alexandra Jabbarpour ’23 (Salem, Va.).
• Chinese Culture Club: From calligraphy lessons to the Mid-Autumn Mooncake Festival, the club’s goal is twofold: “We want more people to get to know Chinese culture and to provide a sense of home for Chinese international students,” says Gina Qian ’22 (Nanjing, China).
• A Novel Idea: Definitely not assigned reading: this book club is “really helpful encouragement to read for fun more,” says Jess Brown ’22 (Boulder, Colo.), wearing a Marauder’s Map tank top as a Harry Potter homage.
• Women’s Wrestling: And if you have an idea that’s not among the existing options? You can start your own group, like Francesca LoPresti ’25 (Richmond, Calif.), who launched a women’s wrestling club with Anna Andreasen ’24 (Santa Cruz, Calif.) and Sofia Doroshenko ’25 (Rock City, Ill.) after four years of wrestling in high school: “It’s a concept of my identity I want to take into college and share with other people.”