According to BYUHSA, there are more student associations than ever before with over 40 associations representing themselves at this year’s World Fest.
Some of the new associations aren’t associated with any culture. Kenny Vilayvong and Trevor Knight, two juniors from California studying business management, started what they call the “Outdoor Adventure club.”
Knight said, “We wanted to be involved in recreational activities, and the first time I went to World Fest, there was nothing facilitating that.”
Knight said their purpose is to get members out around the island and have adventures. “We’ll teach everyone to do it safely. We are going to take them to see Makapuu Lighthouse, Lanikai, and so on. We’ll hit it all up in the next few semesters. We’ll see things close by and things farther away too.”
Knight clarified the association’s focus isn’t “just hikes. We will do all outdoor activities. We’re going to help kids work at the rope, set up hammocks, take them slacklining, go on biking trips…” Knight said they want to help students be active.
Kyler Brown, a freshman from Washington studying business management, started the Ultimate Frisbee Association this semester. “Our name is pretty self-explanatory: we play ultimate Frisbee, which is one of the fastest growing sports in America. It’s a fun game everyone can play and it’s easy to learn.”
Brown said he wanted “to have an organized group because there are a lot of people on campus that play, but this is going to be an organized place where everyone can have fun.”
Among this semester’s new associations is the revived Native American Association. “We are new this semester,” said Megan Carter, a junior from Oregon studying business management and secretary of the Native American Association. “It’s new management, new presidency, new everything.”
Carter said, “We’re really trying to get bigger support for the Native Americans on campus, especially because there’s a new program for the IWORK students. The Native Americans can now come as IWORK students like any other international student. It will probably bring more Native Americans to campus because there’s actually a large population of Mormon Native Americans.”
Carter said the association helps students “feel at home at BYUH. Joining the Native American Club is really cool because the Native Americans are really unique on campus. Right now there’s only 4 Native Americans on campus. So if you join you can learn a little bit more about where America actually started and you can join a unique club.”