Las Positas held its annual Welcome Back Week on Sept. 9 and 10 in the quad, amid two sweltering days of temperatures exceeding 90 degrees. The quad was packed with students and booths, creating a rare sight of Las Positas’s usually quiet outdoor area into a bustling gathering place.
Welcome Back Week is a good opportunity for incoming or returning students to walk around their campus and see everything that the school has to offer, whether that’s clubs, programs, or student services.
With events as rare as these, happening once a semester, it is a way for the school and the programs that make Las Positas show off for students who may be unaware of what there is to offer.
The Tropical Club Fair, held from Sept. 9 to Sept. 10, had a listed high temperature of 103 degrees on the first day. With the fair being held 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., that made it a prime time window for the sun to be blistering down upon the bodies and pavement.
According to AccuWeather, Sept. 9 was the hottest day of the year so far, with the summer season already over.
Along with inflatable palm trees, flamingos and leis, the weather did its best to set the mood to be tropical, if you ignore Livermore’s lack of humidity.
Underneath the tents, within some relief from the beaming sun, students manned tables representing their clubs or programs. Almost every major, club, or service was accounted for, giving students the privilege of variety. The club count at Las Positas reaches the century mark, with many of them unknown to most students.
Clubs tabled in the quad not only wanted to inform students about what Las Positas had to offer, but also to recruit more members or raise money.
“Our goals were, one, get more members, and two, fundraise enough money so that we can purchase more equipment for us to use as a club,” Alex Navarro, Photo Club President, said. “But also as a way to benefit the photo department as well.”
Students were encouraged to roam and interact with tables and collect stamps for free tacos provided by Taquizas Las Reinas Food Shop, a similar system of earning your free meal as last year.
Many of the people tabling had the opportunity to go look around for themselves, like Gavin Lankila, who served as the Robotics Club secretary last year.
“Being at a community college, there’s always that stigma that you can’t meet people, and it’s not social, you just go to class and go home,” Lankila said. “These club fairs help get rid of that stigma because these clubs help you meet new people and have fun.”
Diana Navarro, a library service specialist who has been in the district for 38 years, still feels the community growing around her.
“The community at this college and how we support each other… look at this,” as Navarro gestures to the bodies of bustling students. “How do you not want to be here? It’s so loving, I have people that come back and say they missed it because they felt like family.”
