AU Connect is an online portal that not only our current students use to check out clubs and organizations and activities, but prospective students can check it out as well, to see what clubs we currently have, or things that maybe we don't even have, that when they become students here at Alfred, they may start those clubs.
The leadership opportunities that our students have, and that everybody on this campus has, and especially our students, are based upon their skills. Whatever you bring to the table, you have an opportunity to lead to inspire, and ultimately, to change, potentially, the direction.
Here at Alfred University, we have a wide range of clubs. And that can be anything from the oldest, one of the most well established groups, the forest people, which is our outdoor club, to some of the newer clubs that we just recently helped get started from a reestablishment of the chess club. And also establishment of a Magic the Gathering club.
All you need is three people, to be able to start a club or organization. You need somebody who wants to be the president, somebody wants to be a treasurer, and an advisor.
I've noticed plenty of students that have come in just looking for someone else to connect with. And it's amazing to see those connections be made from one year after the other, and seeing them meet up over the summers for different trips, and then seeing how the bonds really connect with students as they get into their junior and senior years here. Hot Dog Day is our annual celebration of the hot dog. But really, it's our Spring Festival, where student clubs and organizations are active and present. We may have dunk tanks and carnival games. And really, yes, plenty of hotdogs along the way.
But we have organizations from both campuses in the town as part of the parade that goes around both campuses-- it goes through downtown. And that party like experience is unlike many things that I've seen other things and it is a strong, positive tradition that has continued on and on for any number of years.
We're also very excited to have a brand new eSports facility here on campus currently housed in Susan Howell Hall. We have eight state of the art machines for students to do eSports and online gaming. And it will really be the students that envision how we take the eSports program into the future.
