Nestled at the heart of Dallas Hall Lawn, SMU hosted “Night at the Club” on Sept. 4th. This vivid display of SMU’s diversity boasted over 100 tables of student organizations and was attended by over 1,000 students, according to a member of the Student Center and Activities Office. With the bustling crowds of students and excited club members calling to onlookers, the event was charged with tangible energy and excitement.

While traversing the walkways lined by displays, it was easy to see why the event attracted so much attention. Colorful poster boards, carefully arrayed leaflets, dishes of candies, and club-specific props like a full-sized boat and golden trophies arrayed the tables.

Following the footsteps of a quickly amassing crowd led to Grant Richter, a member of Alpha Kappa Psi who, among others, was speaking to one of the largest gathered groups of students.

“Our main purpose is to educate our members and prepare them for the business world through alumni connections as well as marketing and connection events that we have,” he said. “No matter what form of career you go into, business is always incorporated into every single thing. Whether you’re a business major in Cox or whether you are a Dedman major.”

When asked about his personal reasons for joining Alpha Kappa Psi, Richter cited the strong connections with like-minded peers who pushed him to excel in the business realm.

One of SMU’s more unique clubs, “Hilltop Motorsports,” is part of the FSAE (Formula Society of Automotive Engineers).

“Our selling card is ‘all are welcome,’” said Vice President Charity Robinson. “You can learn so much from this club. It doesn’t even matter if it pertains to the car that we’re designing. I’ve learned how to replace brakes, I’ve learned how to do Excel spreadsheets.”

And finally, flanked by a bicycle, was SMU’s Triathlon club.

“I used to be a swimmer, wanted to still keep racing so I decided to join triathlons, see if I could do them, and I thought they looked interesting,” said their Vice President Andrew Pan. “I love just setting goals for myself, is a big thing.”

While none of these clubs have the same focus, they share the common gift of their leaders: dedicated SMU students passionate about their interests, sharing what they’ve learned with their fellow undergraduates. Seeing the curious crowds, hearing each representative’s pitch, and absorbing the endless creativity captured on campus would make anyone believe SMU Mustangs really are “world changers.”