The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse campus came alive on Friday, Sept. 8 as students, both new and returning, were welcomed to the annual Eagle Fest. The event covered the Student Union Lawn, Badger Street, Eagle Field and Drake Field to showcase the array of clubs and organizations that call UWL home.

Held from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., Eagle Fest introduced students to the myriad of clubs and organizations, ranging from political organizations such as UWL College Democrats to multicultural organizations such as Black Student Unity (BSU) and club teams such as Men’s Club Rugby.

A full list of the organizations in attendance can be found here.

The MyOrgs website is another resource that can be used to find details, profiles, meeting times and contact information for each club and organization.

The Racquet Press interviewed students both representing organizations and those coming to enjoy the festivities.

Emily Behling, a third-year student walking around Eagle Fest spoke about why she attended. “I think it is just fun to walk around and see all of the different clubs, and maybe get involved in a couple of them,” Behling said. 

Jenna Droessler, a fourth-year student said, “I am at Eagle Fest today representing Eagle Catholic, which is a Catholic church right across from Graff [Main Hall] and Eagle Fest is a good time to join other clubs, see what we have around campus and see all of the familiar faces around campus as well.”

Cameron Seebruch, a second-year student, represented UWL College Democrats stated, “We are just having fun at Eagle Fest! Handing out pins, stickers, hand sanitizer, pixie sticks and literature.”

Maria Laurent, a fifth-year student, represented the History Club. “History Club is mostly a social organization… We do a lot of things around town, and we do a haunted pontoon tour downtown.” Laurent continued, “We also have a live mascot, a guinea pig named Brunhilde.”

Center for Transformative Justice (CTJ) Director, Ashley Nowak and CTJ Program Coordinator, Caleb Colon-Rivera, represented CTJ and Campus Thread at Eagle Fest. Colon-Rivera said, “Campus Thread is a free clothing campus for students to come look at clothes on campus… We are having a great time; we just handed out all of our totes to students, they were a big hit, and we talked to 50 to 70 students today.”

Aryelle Moder, a second-year student was at Eagle Fest to represent Pre-Law Society. “Today we are just here to get new members and get the message out that we are out there.” Moder continued, “Some of the things that we do at Pre-Law Society that we are advertising is this year we are going to try to do something with mock trial, do help with LSAT prep, we are also going to have lawyers come in and talk.”

Kinesis Studio Dance Club had a booth on Badger Street, playing music and Secretary of the club, Molly Westcott said, “I am having so much fun!… We [Kinesis Studio Dance Club] are a student-led club with student choreography. We do a recital showcase in April every year. We are just a bunch of girls that like to get together and continue the spirit of dance.”

State Senator Brad Pfaff said, “It is an honor to be here; it is a great event! This is the first Eagle Fest that I have been to. I was invited by the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse College Democrats, but I also had the opportunity to say hello to the History Club, Sociology Club, Pre-Law. I met with a number of groups.” 

Pfaff continued, “It is extremely important that we as a society recognize the fact higher education is important. It is also extremely important that we continue to invest in our University of Wisconsin system. UWL is an outstanding four-year university, and it is my goal as a state legislature…that it remains affordable, it remains accessible and within reach for people of all different walks of life.”

In addition to the organizations and clubs, Eagle Fest included different arrangements of inflatables, Drag Queen Bingo, dunk tanks and music from Emma Jude, Grayson DeWolfe and Good Morning Bedlam.

UWL provided a wide array of food trucks including Betty’s Tacos, Five Star Eggroll, Jean Luc Crepes and Schindoggies.

The night concluded with a student after-party under the Union lawn tent called Headphone Disco. Instead of a loudspeaker students wore headphones to listen to music.