Students fall into semester with Fall Fest

NMU students stepped back into the classrooms today for the first day of the fall semester, but in between classes students could attend a special event.

Fall Fest has been around since the ’80s and has offered students, primarily freshman, the opportunity to get acquainted with campus groups, non-profit organizations and community businesses.

The fest has grown since its first years and both the community and student body have reasons to attend.

Jordan Paquet, Special Events Coordinator at NMU, said, “We get a lot of community members that come out just strictly for the fact that they get to meet students, and they get to hear from students. Obviously, all of the students come out because [of the] free pizza, free ice cream, free stuff from all of the businesses. It’s kind of a win-win situation for both.”

Due to the limited amount of space available, only 140 of NMU’s 325 student organizations were on hand.

“It was way, way back in May that all of these students actually started signing up for all of their tables,” Paquet said. “They’ve been prepping for the summer; just exactly what they wanted to do to get all of these students at their table and to sign up for more information.”

Fall Fest also serves as an event where returning students can reconnect with friends and incoming freshman can meet new people.

It ran from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the lawn in front of the university center.