Engineering School showcases activities

They came for the free hoagies and the solar car racing -- and they left with a whole new perspective on student-run Engineering organizations. About 75 freshmen wandered through the maze of tables on the first floor of the Towne Building last night for the School of Engineering and Applied Science's first informal "rush" for student clubs. Representatives from various Engineering organizations -- ranging from PennToys to the Society of Systems Engineers to the Engineering Peer Advising Council -- were on hand to promote their activities and sign on freshmen. "My goal was educate the freshmen and hopefully get them to join our club," said Engineering junior Scott Raven, co-leader of Dining Philosophers. The group "looks to enhance the Computer Science curriculum by providing extracurricular activities, be them social or academic," said Dining Philosophers co-leader Stuart Eichert. "One of our key ways of doing this is to hold events with speakers," the Engineering sophomore added. "Basically, every big computer company has come here to speak." Generally, the rush was intended to give freshmen an idea of the range of activities available and to allow them to mingle as a class. Engineering freshman Krista Pohl expressed her interest in joining both the Society of Woman Engineers and Solar Car Racing Team, as well as her hope to "meet some other people in the freshman class." The idea for the event came from a concern that various Engineering activities were not widely enough publicized, particularly to the freshman class, according to Engineering's Assistant Director of Student Affairs Katherine Becht. In hopes of increasing publicity, several Engineering students made a proposal last year that their organizations be granted a table at Center for University of Pennsylvania Identification. But, as Becht reminded them, CUPID is only intended to publicize activities considered "University-wide." Looking for a new approach, Becht and the students developed the concept of an informal "mixer" where Engineering freshmen could mingle with one another and explore the school's different opportunities. Based on last night's success, the rush could become an annual event, Becht said, adding that it is these sorts of events that are critical to higher learning. "The real quality of educational experience comes from inside the classroom," she said. "But much of it also comes from the outside and hopefully these co-curricular activities can raise the overall quality of education."