The following is a package of stories and photos featuring various clubs on SUNY Fredonia’s campus.
A closer look at the arts within Fredonia’s clubs
NYELA RENNIE
Special to The Leader
ARIN RUSSELL
Special to The Leader
On August 31, SUNY Fredonia held their biannual Activities Night located at Dod’s Grove. Activities Night gives students the chance to learn about all of the astounding, diverse clubs on campus.
The types of clubs at Activities Night range from academic, athletic, performing arts and social. And, with over 150 student organizations at Fredonia, students are bound to find a club that they connect with.
SUNY Fredonia is known for its dedication to the arts, and the clubs mentioned in this article uphold that statement.
Percussion Guild
Percussion Guild is an interactive club for students that are interested in the world of percussion. “Anybody can join it, not just percussionists,” said Co-President Joey Fiumano. “We just spread the love of percussion, and we’ve heard back from past members who weren’t music majors and they still continue to play to this day.”
Fiumano has been a part of Percussion Guild since his sophomore year where he was the events coordinator. Now a senior, Fiumano is grateful that he has had the opportunity to make such a benevolent impact on Fredonia’s percussion community.
Instagram: @fredoniapercussionguild
YouTube: @sunyfredoniapercussionguil7534
Sound Services
Sound Services is a hands-on club that provides lighting and sound reinforcement for events all around the Fredonia area. “When there’s a need for lights for a show, we are the ones who make it happen,” said Vice President Dylan Tanyi. Tanyi has been a part of Sound Services for three years.
For this upcoming semester, Tanyi plans on making the club’s meetings more informative and instructional for its members. He expressed his gratitude for the vast amounts of knowledge that he has acquired throughout his time in Sound Services, and hopes to create a lasting impact on future members to come.
Instagram: @soundservices__
NoteWorthy
NoteWorthy is SUNY Fredonia’s only show choir. Their focus is on the theatrics of music, putting on performances such as a preview show and full showcase. “We try to emphasize the performance aspect. That’s what really sets us aside,” music director Simon Sysentgyorgi said. Szentgyorgyi further went on to say, “We don’t stick to only musical theater. We welcome all genres [and] styles — whatever you have to bring to the table.”
Szentgyorgi has been a part of NoteWorthy for four semesters and has been an active E-board member for three of those semesters. They expressed wanting to bring more awareness to the arts of theater and make a larger impact on campus.
Instagram: @noteworthyfredonia
Tiktok: @noteworthyfsu
Fredonia has an Irish dance club?!
SAMANTHA GLORIOSO
Special to The Leader
There are many different clubs on campus surrounding a variety of topics and themes. However, there is one club that often goes unnoticed: Rince Irish Dance Club.
What is Rince Irish Dance?
Rince was the first and only Irish dance club created on campus.
According to the club’s president, Sarah Warren, “Rince is a club meant for learning about Irish culture and Irish dancing, gaining friendships and most importantly, for fun.”
But for many, Irish Dance is a new skill. This leaves many wondering if they needed prior experience to join.
“No! Rince is meant for anyone and everyone,” Warren said. “You can have any type of dance experience or no dance experience at all and become a member. We teach you everything you need to know and take it step by step!”
The club was founded within the last ten years, meaning it is relatively new to Fredonia.
Rince is currently in the process of figuring out their weekly meeting time and location.
They usually get their list of interested students at Activities Night and send out a poll the next day to find a time that works for everyone.
According to Warren, current members describe the meetings as fun, low commitment and something to look forward to. Dance can be an outlet for many during college and new members often find that in Rince.
Rince club member Mary Catherine Aivalotis said,“I love that I am able to dance with my friends and connect with a part of my heritage.”
Aivalotis had Irish danced in middle school and decided to get back into it when she came to Fredonia and found out about Rince.
Rince does many performances throughout each semester.
In March 2022, the club got to perform at Heenan’s Irish Pub for its St. Patrick’s Day celebration, which was a huge accomplishment for Warren and her fellow club members.
It got the community involved, making them aware that there is an Irish dance club at Fredonia that can help spread Irish culture.
Taking STEPS in the right direction toward positive student sexuality
EJ JACOBS
Life & Arts Editor
Do you want to start the semester by taking a “step” in the right direction?
The STEPS club on campus is all about staying informed and being proactive.
STEPS stands for “Students Teaching Equals Positive Sexuality.”
The club’s goals, as stated by President Bowie Rivera are to “give our peers information to help people form the best choices for themselves. That’s the most important thing — we aren’t telling anyone what to do, the only correct decision is the one you make.”
Rivera goes on to say, “We teach on eight topics: safe partying/alcohol awareness, STDs/STIs, HIV/AIDS, unhealthy/healthy relationships, cannabis safety, sexual assault, gender & sexuality and safe sex.”
STEPS’ goals are to benefit the university and those who attend Fredonia.
Rivera said, “STEPS has a role on campus to educate. We want to bring awareness to these topics that we teach because it is so incredibly important, especially for college students.”
When discussing the process of joining the club and how it sparked an interest for the current members, senior music therapy major, Megan Kidby stated, “I first saw them at Activities Night; they were the table right across from us and I saw the sense of camaraderie.” Kidby continues, “I signed up not thinking that I would, you know, fully go through with it … I did a little bit of research on STEPS, and I was like, ‘Oh, this is actually a very important thing that we need on this campus.’”
STEPS offers a wide range of presentations that they can hold for any club or organization.
STEPS is holding “Get to Know You” events on Sept. 7 and 8 from 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. in the Williams Center Room 204ABC.
This allows the club to get to know new members, and members can get to know the group.
STEPS will feature games and activities at these meetings to help new members see what the club involves.
The club will be holding interviews for new members on Sept. 9.
You can find them @fredsteps on Instagram.
‘Some Like it Hot’ prepares for a ‘fiery’ semester
ABIGAIL NEWMAN
Special to The Leader
One of Fredonia’s two female-identifying a cappella groups, “Some Like it Hot,” said they are beyond excited to kick off the new semester with their new repertoire.
SUNY Fredonia’s campus is the home of a variety of different a cappella groups.
A few of these groups include “Some Like it Hot” (SLIH), “Much More Chill” (MMC), “The Guerrillas,” “The Riveters” and “Dynamic Intonation.”
SLIH is known to be Fredonia’s first and oldest all-female a cappella group, founded in 2001 with the original name “Out of the Blue.”
In 2002, the organization updated their name to “Some Like it Hot,” featuring music styles of pop, hip hop and rock.
The club now explores singing in all genres of music, featuring their members’ vocal instrumentation and vocal percussion. SLIH members Alyssa Marley and Katie Schaefer are excited for the upcoming semester’s new members to join, replacing those who graduated in May.
“I have made my very best friends in this group, and I’m so excited to continue making great friends,” said Schaefer.
An aspect that makes SLIH stand out from the other vocal groups on campus is its use of social media to promote their organization. In February of 2022, SLIH launched its Tik Tok page under the username of @slihacappella.
The group’s most popular video features a popular trend of “Guess the Soloist” and it has over 166,000 views.
In this video, the club stands together while one soloist sings and the other members mouth the words to the song. Watchers can comment on the video who they believe is singing. SLIH posted a video revealing the identity of the soloist just a few days after its original upload.
Marley described what makes “Some Like it Hot” stand out from the other a cappella groups within the Fredonia campus: “I feel like our group just has a great connection with one another. We all love singing, that’s like our main purpose of it. So I think it’s a great collaboration, no doubt.”
When asked what she was most excited to perform this semester, Marley said, “I know that we’re trying to get in the works to do a Halloween show with another a cappella group. And I think we’re going to try and arrange ‘Calling All The Monsters,’ so I’m excited about that.”
Aside from the Halloween show that is in the works, SLIH has an annual fall show. The date for this event will be announced in the upcoming weeks.
A deep dive into Fredonia’s Music Industry Club
ARIN RUSSELL
Special to The Leader
Music Industry Club (MIC) is looking to make changes in the heart of Fredonia’s vibrant music scene and to the club itself.
MIC is a business-oriented music club. They handle the behind-the-scenes of music events such as promotions, marketing, event coordination and money management for contracts.
But what new does MIC have to offer Fredonia this upcoming school year?
Club President Jazmine Torres has been a part of MIC since her freshman year. She worked in promotions for a year and was the secretary before moving up to become the president. As the new president of MIC, she has been making many changes in the club since starting her presidency.
When asked what she intends to bring to MIC, Torres said, “We’re bringing a lot more local artists this year. We’re starting to branch out into different genres. In the past, we’ve been indie, very rock. We’re trying to expand on that and bring in more rap artists, DJ sets, etc.”
Olivia Castiglione joined MIC during her freshman year and was on the promotions committee. As the Vice President, Castiglione is eager to make major positive and necessary changes in the club.
She spoke about starting to focus more on their promotions this year, complimenting the club’s marketing and promotions team (Hailey LaMacchia and Matthew Knapp) on freshening up the Instagram page. “Our Instagram last year versus this year is already changing. It looks a lot more cohesive.”
Castiglione also teased future events, saying, “In the spring – I can’t say much yet. But stay tuned; we’ve got a big, big, big event happening.”
The pair voiced pride that their club had a diverse E-board in a primarily male-dominated industry.
The club expressed its openness to anyone passionate and curious to learn the inner workings of the music industry to join.
Current events they have coming up are as follows:
“Amp It Up” on Sept. 15.
“Battle of the New Bands” is currently being planned for the first Friday of Dec.
These events are completely free for anyone interested to attend.
Please check out their socials for updates and any other news regarding the club.
Instagram: @micfredonia
TikTok: @micfredonia
Facebook: @micfredonia
Twitter: @MICFredonia