Students who have some free time in their schedule and don’t know what to do with it have come to the right place. There are plenty of new, up-and-coming student organizations that might be of interest. Although these organizations are in the process of being recognized as a club, they plan to meet this term and kick into full swing next year. Women’s Intramural Lacrosse Club, RiseUp, and Slacklining Club were excited to share what they are planning for the upcoming year.
Freshman Ora Raymond is starting the first ever Lawrence Women’s Lacrosse Club (LWLC). “I played lacrosse throughout high school,” Raymond said, “and it was by far my favorite sport. It was the only one that really stuck, and I wanted to bring it to Lawrence. I was surprised Lawrence didn’t have a team because it’s such an up and coming sport and especially popular in the Midwest.”
Right now the club is practicing basic skills like catching, throwing, cradling and fighting for ground balls. Raymond is hoping for 12 to 20 enthusiastic and committed women. Men can also join LWLC, but they cannot compete in the women competitions. The club is for anyone interested in being outside but don’t have time for a big commitment. Practices are Tuesdays at 5:45 and Thursdays at 5pm, and members are required to make at least one practice. Practice meets can be found on the LWLC Facebook page. Raymond hopes that the club will eventually compete as a Division 3 team, but focusing on getting new equipment for now. Raymond encouraged students to join because “lacrosse is a great stress reliever, especially for a study break and, more importantly, fun.”
Junior Schuyler Borges and sophomore Miguelina Burgos are organizing RiseUp, a college access program for high school students. Their main goal is to provide mentorship and resources for students as they plan to transition to college.
“I found a personal need for an organization like this, coming from a place in California that did not have support and discouraged students to apply to college because of [academic and financial] difficulties,” said Borges.
Burgos has been a tutor for almost two years and is currently running the VITAL tutoring program. “It was concerning to me that there was not a program on campus for high school students, given the need for programs and tutoring resources for high school students specifically,” said Burgos. Currently, VITAL is one of the few programs that provides free tutoring in the area of Appleton, but there is still a need in mentorship and resources, especially for high school students applying to college.
“Being part of a college access program in high school really helped and motivated me to attend college and prepare myself to transition to college,” Burgos commented. “I think every student should have the opportunity to be part of a college preparation program that exposes them to what college is really like.”
Borges and Burgos printed out flyers and made a poster to encourage students to join the program. They also reached out to counselors in different high schools to gauge interest in having a college access program like RiseUp. The club plans to meet on Wednesdays.
“I would highly encourage Lawrence students to join RiseUp, especially if they are interested in offering mentorship to a student going to college and they want to create a positive impact in the life of a student,” said Burgos.
“Lawrence is the place where we believe anyone can go to college and accept diversity, and this is a way for Lawrence to stand by their statement,” added Borges.
Freshman Leo Mayer is excited to bring slacklining culture to Lawrence with Lawrence University Slackening Club (LU Slackers). Slacklining is a new sport where a piece of webbing is supported by two anchors, usually trees. The first goal is to walk across it, but people can do various tricks.
There are three disciplines to slacklining. Long lining rigging is where the competitor rigs the line as far as possible. The most well-known by the media is ‘trick lining,’ which involves doing flips and various balancing. Rig-lining is where the competitor is suspended by rigging to see how high they can walk the line.
Mayer has attended the slackline festival for two years, and was excited to join a team when entering college. When deciding between Lawrence and another school, the other school had a slacklining club, but Lawrence did not. Mayer wanted to bring slacklining to Lawrence. Although Mayer has not officially advertised, he told his friends and met people who are interested during fall and winter terms, and eventually wants to reach out to whole Lawrence community.
“Its super fun,” Mayer said, “and one of the best stress relievers. It forces you to focus on the line.” Mayer encouraged students to join slacklining because it is “empowering when you are first able to make it all the way across and be able to do it after that because to know you could do something you thought at first was impossible is a really great feeling.”
With all the unique clubs on campus, these three fit right in on a campus that thrives off of student involvement. Students are encouraged to give them a try, or start their own clubs to fit their own interests.
