There was a big turnout for this year’s City of Orgs event, where over 200 attendees met with student reps from various student-led organizations, clubs and groups on campus. The event was situated around the USU plaza and main walkway. Attendees were encouraged to approach at least 10 tables, with the promise of a meal voucher courtesy of several food trucks on campus.

Music for the event was hosted by Golden Eagle Radio, a radio station covering Cal State LA and the Los Angeles area. William Reynoso, a computer science major, was the DJ setting the vibe for the event.

“The Radio is always live, anyone can join from our website, they can hear all the music that’s playing, and shows as well,” said Reynoso.

Anyone who has a show or podcast idea can join Golden Eagle Radio for a chance to see and hear their concepts on the radio and on their website, according to Reynoso. Golden Eagle Radio has meetings on Mondays, from 10-11 a.m. in person and on Zoom.

Reynoso hopes he can recruit more people into Golden Eagle Radio, whether as newbie DJ’s or budding show hosts.

Some clubs at the City of Orgs were created to highlight issues that other students face, such as S.P.E.A.K. which stands for Stuttering People’s Experiences and Awareness and Knowledge.

“The club’s goals are to spread awareness and further understanding of stuttering,”said Alan Mendoza, the president and founder.

Mendoza is looking to build a community of not just people who stutter, but to gather allies and those who are interested in learning more about stuttering. He hopes for the club to be an open and safe space to talk about anything, not just about stuttering.

“We also have guest speakers,” Mendoza said. “We have professors that are professionals in the field of speech, we have researchers that look into stuttering and what happens physically during the moment of stuttering. Personally, it’s my last semester in my program one of my goals is to really have [S.P.E.A.K.] survive when I’m gone.”

Mendoza hopes to continue his education at Cal State LA by getting into graduate school and continue to be the president of the club.

For other clubs, the City of Orgs event was a great chance to recruit students who want to make their mark on the world and perhaps in space as well.

Melody Hashemian, the president and project manager of the Inter-Cosmic STEM Research Club and NASA M.I.N.D.S., wants young talented minds for her club. The Inter-cosmic Stem Research Club is an all-inclusive club which aims to start as many research projects that support life outside of earth. 

“Everything you can do on earth, we’ll need up in space,” Hashemian said. “We have biology majors, chemistry majors, psychology majors, software people, engineers, business majors, film majors.”

Currently, club members are undergoing a competition sponsored by NASA, NASA MINDS.

This year, they are doing a cryogenic robotic swarming platform on the dark side of the moon. It’s an ambitious mission concept in which the club hopes to have drones find mineral samples on the moon. These samples could potentially reveal the existence of water on the moon, which also helps with the general understanding of the creation of our universe.

New members can expect the club to be run “like a real NASA facility.” It’s a proactive space where students will be able to pursue their own projects freely.

Roberto Alonso, a psychology major, thought the event was a fun way for students to learn about clubs on campus.

“We’re having a good time, we’re learning about each other and all these other organizations,” Alonso said.

He mentioned his interest in joining one club, the Rehabilitation Counseling Association Program.

Another student, Brian Barragan, said that the City of Orgs event was a great way for him to connect with other people.

It “seems like a great way of networking, trying to get to as many desks as I can,” Barragan said. “Hopefully I will make many connections.” 

Disclosure: Golden Eagle Radio is also part of the University Time’s umbrella group. This story is not an advertisement of Golden Eagle Radio. The University Times aspires to have a diversity of sources, not just sources from our affiliates.