Pantherpalooza brought together new and returning students Wednesday to find their own way of getting involved on campus.

Many different Registered Student Organizations and other organizations handed out information on the South Quad.

“Pantherpalooza is an opportunity to see what we have on campus,” said Ceci Brinker, director of Student Life.

The organizations range from hunting, Greek life, sports and ice hockey, Brinker said.

The event is for both new and returning students and helps them find something they are interested in, said Kaci Abolt, the student vice president for student affairs.

There were more than 125 organizations registered for the event, Abolt said.

“It’s a great way to get your name out there,” Abolt said.

Pantherpalooza gives organizations the opportunity to tell students what they are about and how the new members can participate in the group, she said.

RSOs could reach hundreds of students they would not normally be able to, Abolt said.

Also, students met and talked with more students who are involved in clubs than they usually would in one day, she said.

“We just filled our first page of emails, so we’ve had a lot of people stopping by,” said Rachel Johnson, director of Best Buddies.

It is the first week, so all the freshmen and transfer students are looking for ways to get involved, Johnson said.

“We are trying to get more members,” said Jessica Arteaga, a senior communication disorder and sciences major and a member of the Latin American Student Organization.

“There is such a small Latin population on campus, so we are trying to get our name out to other ethnicities too,” Arteaga said.

Kim Ensign, a graduate assistant in the Student Community Service office, said she feels that Pantherpalooza is a good way to meet people around campus.

“(Student Community Service) likes to come to Pantherpalooza because depending on where you are on campus, there are a lot of students you never get to talk to,” Ensign said. “It’s good marketing.”

There were 75 people who signed up in three hours, Ensign said.

Amanda Yamate, a senior marketing major, said she wanted to join something and heard Pantherpalooza was the place to do it.

“This is the most tables we’ve ever had there,” Abolt said.

Samantha McDaniel can be reached at 581-2812 or slmcdaniel@eiu.edu.

PRIDE members Nico Canaday, a senior English major, Olivia Biggs, a sophomore family and consumer sciences major, and Erin Williams, a senior psychology major, talk to junior psychology majors Analysia Aguilar and Brittany Thomas during Pantherpalooza Wed

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