13 student-organized clubs thrive at RRC campuses

Tamika Reid, CONTRIBUTOR
Clubs can fundraise on campus with a free table, receive a Pizza Pizza discount for fundraising purposes and may get donations from the RRCSA by completing a request form. THE PROJECTOR/ Tamika Reid

Clubs can fundraise on campus with a free table, receive a Pizza Pizza discount for fundraising purposes and may get donations from the RRCSA by completing a request form. THE PROJECTOR/ Tamika Reid

Clubs at Red River College appear to be making a difference in some students’ lives.

The college has 13 student-organized clubs running out of the Notre Dame and Exchange District campuses.

Jeremy Ens founded the Dungeons & Dragons club in 2015.

“Some of my fondest memories at RRC are from my time in the Dungeons & Dragons club,” Ens wrote in an email. Ens said there are two Dungeons & Dragons groups that meet one or two times per week. One group meets on Wednesdays, and the other meets on Fridays.

Joel Stevens is the Power to Change club student leader.

“For me being part of Power to Change has helped me take time away from my busy schedule to reflect on what’s really important to me, my relationship with God, and has helped me to build some awesome friendships,” Stevens wrote in an email.

The Power to Change club is made up of students whose lives have been changed by their relationship with Jesus Christ, wrote Stevens. The group meets on Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to noon, and noon to 1:00 p.m. in the Club Hub space at NDC.

Chad Smith, a faculty advisor, runs the LGBT* and Friends club. In an email, Smith wrote the club takes part in “social activities, participates in different LGBTT activities going on in the city, as well as raise awareness to LGBTT issues.”

The first LGBT* and Friends meeting will be at the end of October.

RRC also has a tabletop gaming club, a League of Legends club, and an Indian Cultural club.

“It’s hard to get to know anyone outside of our classrooms,” said Adam Taplin, RRC Students’ Association president. “Clubs are a really great way to branch out, to meet people from different departments of the college.” Taplin said he thinks students are too shy to start a club with a stranger. He said he believes the SA helps to partner students with clubs.

“We’re kind of just here to say, ‘Hey, there are clubs that you can be a part of,’” Taplin said. “What the club is about, how often you meet, is entirely up to the students.”

RRC student fees don’t go toward clubs on campus, but the clubs do get a couple benefits. Taplin said clubs can fundraise on campus with a free table, receive a Pizza Pizza discount for fundraising purposes and may get donations from the RRCSA by completing a request form.