Wednesday, Aug. 25 was the College of Central Florida’s Club Rush event, where students were welcomed to come out and learn more about the clubs and classes offered at CF.

Club Rush this Fall semester was held inside the CF Ocala campus gym, while it’s usually held outdoors when the weather is tolerable, or online for those who can’t make it. This event is a great way for us as students to kick off a new semester, meet other students, and put ourselves out there in the college experience.

Upon entering Club Rush, students were asked to show their student ID and were handed free raffle tickets in return, one for lunch and one for a drawing. Chik-fil-a was available for students that were given a free ticket at the door, and raffle prizes were given throughout the event, with prizes such as new headphones.

Students were encouraged to wear masks, especially being that the event was not outdoors this semester, and self-distancing was encouraged as much as possible in the crowded gym.

One student who wished to remain anonymous said, “Club rush is best way to figure out what CF offers…you can’t see all the clubs out in front of you like this any other time.”

Marjorie McGee, Director of Student Life at CF, can be credited for helping run events like Club Rush as well as almost everything else that has to do with our time at CF.

Normally, Club Rush would expect around 30-40 clubs to be present between the Ocala, Citrus, and Levy county locations, but as McGee said, “We had 18 clubs present at the event.”

While the number of participating clubs was lower than usual due to the pandemic, McGee estimated that roughly 375 students were in attendance this time around. Student attendance to these events is easily monitored when indoors, due to there being a designated entrance and exit, while the outdoor setting is not as controlled.

CF Professor Rob Marino was in attendance, showing support for the Patriot Press online newspaper, encouraging students to join us in our class as staff writers.

Club Rush came and went, providing us students with information on some of the different unique clubs and classes that welcome us for yet another semester. We can look forward to another Club Rush event Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022, from 12:30 p.m. until 1:45 p.m. where we can once again come together and further our student interests.

As McGee said, “Club Rush is a great event for students to network and make connections- and that is my absolute favorite part.”