On Aug. 29, 2024, Washburn’s Mass Media Club met for the first time for the 2024-2025 school year. The meeting consisted of 23 attendees who were interested in what the club had to offer.

Rebekah McIntosh, senior mass media major, came to the meeting to see her favorite professors and because the party was luau-themed.

“I just love a good themed party. You know, dressing up, having a good time together, very life-giving,” McIntosh said. 

Instead of a meeting where students sat down and discussed mass media, the participants of the club ate snacks and enjoyed each other’s company before the big event of limbo. This game of limbo had six contestants and the competition was fierce. Some of the contestants were even accused of “cheating”, but this was all in good fun.

The ultimate winner of limbo was Humphry Del Castillo, junior mass media major, who mentioned that he hadn’t done the limbo since sixth grade.

“I didn’t know I had it in me, but I’m glad I did,” Del Castillo said.

After the game of limbo, the members of the mass media club decided to take a group photo and those who stayed after spent the rest of their time socializing with each other.

In all, the atmosphere of the meeting was enjoyable. Many students who attended met someone they hadn’t met before, and according to the club’s advisor, Regina Cassell, the club is open to all Washburn students.

“If you’re a [mass media] major, minor, or just anybody, you could come and meet people…in a safer, less threatening way,” Cassell said.

The main reason this club was founded during the previous semester was to have a space where mass media students could come and interact with each other without feeling intimidated by joining Student Media or the Washburn Filmmakers Association, from there the club started to encourage students from any and all areas of study to join.

“Just be brave and take a chance at coming. It’s a very inviting crowd, and even if you feel like you don’t know anybody, just be brave and come, because everyone’s invited and it’s a really great community to hang out with,” McIntosh said. 

When asked about future plans for the club, President Jeremy Ford, junior mass media major, said that the club planned to have meetings once a month, but they want to make sure the meetings are interactive.

“One of the things that has been…tricky with this is that many students sit in class all day and you do some work, but most of it is talking lectures, so we really want to make sure that if we host an event or a meeting, that it’s interactive,” Ford said. “We could come in and design posters and work on graphic design, or we could have a photography day where we go outside and do a scavenger hunt with photos. Everyone learns differently, but hands-on to me, in this field is the best way you’re gonna get most of your skills.”

At this current moment, the club does not have its next meeting scheduled but plans to post the information once it gets planned.

 Edited by Jayme Thompson and Stuti Khadka