At the start of a new quarter and a new year, Bellevue College conducted its semi-annual welcome fair. The Winter Welcome Fair is an event that is put on every year where clubs from around campus set up booths in the C building and show the students of Bellevue College what their various clubs are like.
Katie, a woman supporting the American Sign Language – or ASL – booth, said that the Welcome Fair was a cool place to walk around and learn what the BC community had to offer. She said that it was “the only way [she] knew about most of these clubs.”
It wasn’t only clubs, though. Various organizations also promoted themselves at the fair. The Bellevue Police Department was trying to get people to consider law enforcement as a career path and Eastern Washington University was there to convince people to transfer to their college once they got their associates degree at Bellevue College. These and many more made for a well-formed ring around the cafeteria in the C building. There were so many people there that the double line of booths had to wrap around and into the cafe.
Various groups promoted themselves in different ways to bring attention to their tables in the organized chaos of the fair. The Associated Student Government – better known as the ASG – gave people a free Bellevue College ice scraper or flashlight as long as they spent five minutes filling out a form listing improvements they could recommend for the school. Bellevue College’s RAVE alerts were giving out gloves to anyone who stopped by and informing people about the program and how it helps. Others gave out food or informational pamphlets, APISA had students put down pins on a map saying where they’re from, and every booth had chocolate kisses that they were encouraged to give to students who signed up.
Welcome fairs have been going on at BC for years now. There was a welcome fair at the beginning of fall quarter and there will continue to be welcome fairs in the future. The fairs are there to make sure that students feel welcomed into the community that they’ve joined and to make sure that they’re aware of the events taking place all around campus.
Kes, another student attending Bellevue College, said that the Welcome Fair was a “good resource to learn about clubs and get to know people and build social networks. It’s fun to go if you want to try new things.”
Nora Lance, the Associate Director of Student Programs, explained that the fair was put on so “people will feel welcome to come to Bellevue College and to showcase all of the different clubs and programs.”
Heath Hayden, an assistant in the Library Media Center, explained that their table was there to “talk to students about what they can find in the library.” She explained that the welcome fair “allows our students to see what different programs are available on campus, as well as off campus. Also, to connect with each other and have fun, to remember that the most important thing is to have fun here at Bellevue College.”
BC student Nick Mardon commented on the Welcome Fair as well, with a slightly different perspective.“I appreciate that the school is putting on events and trying to raise some community spirit. It was nice to get some free food but at the same time it was very inconvenient to totally congest that area,” he said. Mardon also shared some commentary on the school’s financial situation. “I think the college’s money and resources could be better used to improve the facilities.” He went on to explain that the college should be putting more towards programs and departments that are in danger of being cut.