Extracurricular Activities
With over 50 clubs, activities, organizations and ministry opportunities, Spring Arbor has something for everyone! For more information on how to get involved, please contact the Office of Student Development and Success.
Academic
C.A.S.E. (Center for Autism Spectrum Enrichment): Students from all majors provide a service for local children and teens with Asperger’s and High Functioning Autism by providing opportunities for social, emotional and educational enrichment. CASE also provides educational support meetings for family members of these children and teens.
Enactus: The Enactus team is a group of students of diverse backgrounds, majors, and experiences who come together to locate needs in the community and develop creative ways of meeting those needs. We do not look to just “give” people fish but instead we pride ourselves on “teaching” people to fish and creating sustainable projects economically, environmentally and socially. We then compile these projects and present them before CEOs and Presidents of globally known and recognized Fortune 500 companies.
Epsilon Chi: It is the intention of Epsilon Chi to connect the education students on campus with the community around them, as well as the one they reside in. This means creating opportunities with principals, administrators, schools, teachers, professors and other education majors on campus.
Model Arab League: Model Arab League is an event sponsored through the National Council on U.S. – Arab Relations in which students learn about the politics and history of the Arab world as they study a particular Arab nation and then prepare to “represent” that nation at a mock Arab League summit. Every year, SAU sends a team to the Model Arab League convention held at a participating Michigan university.
Multicultural and Intercultural Student Organizations: Students of any color or background are celebrated and supported on Spring Arbor University’s campus. With over ten organizations dedicated to fostering a dialogue between various ethnicities and promoting multiculturalism on SAU’s campus, there is something for everyone.
Social Work Association: This group is open to all social work majors and those expressing an interest in social work as a major. Social work majors elect cabinet members and have total control and responsibility for programming within the guidelines for student organizations at Spring Arbor University. The goals that this organization established for itself are:
- To create a greater awareness of the community and the community’s needs.
- Inform students to create new resources if current resources do not exist or fail to meet the needs of the community.
- Give students an opportunity to interact with other students in their major.
- Motivate students to become involved in some form of social work.
Undergraduate Research Symposium: Each spring, Spring Arbor hosts a symposium where students can present their research to their peers and professors. The symposium is run similar to an academic conference: there are concurrent sessions of three or four presenters with time for questions at the end of each panel. In addition, the top three essays receive cash prizes.
Annual Events
80s Skate Night: Grab your tracksuits, your fluorescent leg warmers, and your distressed denim jackets! SAU reserves the roller rink for one crazy and colorful night for you to turn back the clock and have some 80’s-style fun.
Arbor Games: Think the Olympics, throw in some silly games, some tests of endurance, strength and coordination, complete with fun costumes and unpredictable team skits and you’ve got a glimpse of this popular annual event at SAU.
Block Party: It’s everything you’d want from an end-of-the-summer block party, minus your mom’s potato salad. Campus members play sports, participate in fun games, grill some hotdogs and just enjoy being together.
Choptoberfest: So you think you can saw? Prove it at Choptoberfest! Participate in an assortment of lumber jack and highlander games where it’s survival of the fittest. The event is hosted by the Ogle Villages.
Late-Night Breakfast: Finals got you down? Not anymore. On the night before the start of final exam week, the SAU faculty and staff serve up breakfast and deliver their own entertainment for the sleep-deprived and energy-deficient students.
Lowell’s Last Dance of Summer: Aloha! Dig out your grass skirt and lei and do the hula at this annual Lowell Hall event. There is dancing on the basketball court, Karaoke, snacks, volleyball and more! This is a great way to kick off the Fall Semester at SAU!
Mystery Date Night: Hoping to spend some time with that special someone… but you don’t know who that special someone is?! Look no further than Andrews Hall Mystery Date Night! Let our warm and friendly event heat up your icy cold November heart with fun laughs and free hot cocoa! What are the chances you’ll meet your future spouse? Well, it’s definitely not guaranteed, but you will at least have a good time.
Porchfest: This is the most highly anticipated event of the year, this SNL-format variety show brings together the most (and least) talented people that SAU has to offer. One of the longest-running and most historic traditions on campus, this is one event you will remember for years to come.
Skating for Tuques: This is serious business. Demonstrate your ice-skating expertise in a series of competitions and win a tuque (a cool hat). This event takes place at the Optimist Ice Arena in Jackson and is sure to be a fun time!
Art, Media, Music and Theater
Art Shows: Every fall and spring, senior art majors are given the chance to showcase their most awe-inspiring artistic endeavors in the Ganton Art Gallery.
Chapel Band: The Chapel Band performs at the beginning of almost every chapel service – leading the students, faculty and staff into a time of worship to the Lord. The Chapel Band encourages students of a variety of musical backgrounds to try out for this exciting and crucial part of each chapel service.
Gospel Choir: This choir brings together a diverse set of singers and musicians to clap, shout and sing their praises to God. The group performs for area churches, prisons and every year, organizes a Gospel Fest, which is an eclectic performance featuring a wide variety of talent.
Jazz Band: All of Spring Arbor’s instrumental musicians are encouraged to try out for the Jazz Band, which performs concerts throughout the year, and organizes the annual Jazz Bash. For more information, please contact the music department at 517.750.6493.
Musical Ensembles: Those gifted with musical ability are welcome to try out for a variety of musical ensembles including: Chamber Singers, Concert Band, Concert Choir and Wellspring. These groups perform throughout the year and also tour around the country. For more information, please contact the music department at 517.750.6493.
Radio Stations: SAU Radio broadcasts from Sayre Decan Hall on campus. 106.9 HOME.fm is a professionally staffed commercial radio station airing throughout south-central Michigan that trains student broadcasters throughout the day, playing Music that Makes You Feel Good. The Message is an online Christian radio station where students interested in radio can get their start. Students volunteer as they learn alongside professionals on the air.
Will Shoot for Credit: A semester-long course that focuses on short film production. Anyone is welcome to come to the class to learn more about production. Students pitch short film ideas and four of them are chosen to produce. Auditions for actors, script readings with the cast, storyboards, and props are done outside of class before the scheduled production date. The director works with the editor to finalize the short film, and is screened at the Will Shoot for Credit event. View short films from past Will Shoot for Credit events.
Literature and Writing
The Pulse: Spring Arbor students can practice their free speech and show off their writing, editing and graphic design skills by joining The Pulse, Spring Arbor’s student-led news and opinion magazine, published monthly.
Writing Center: The Writing Center exists to help members of the SAU community grow as writers. It offers space for students to learn in community by engaging in conversations about all aspects of writing and critical thinking. Many of the tutors who work here are English majors, and working with others’ writing is an excellent way to hone your own craft.
Service and Community
Action Jackson: A mentoring program that connects two college students with “at-risk” children from the Jackson area.
American Red Cross Club: This club will promote the SAU concept as the last part of our concept states that our community will provide “critical participation in the contemporary world.” As Christians we are called to serve and that is the mission behind the Red Cross. From actual blood donors to the volunteers setting up and recruiting donors, the idea is to serve people in this world. The beauty of this type of servanthood is that participants are helping someone who they don’t know and probably never will. It shows the good in people and provides hope to many families.
Interfaith Shelter: This ministry travels to the Jackson Interfaith Shelter twice a week. They meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays outside the President’s office at 6:15 p.m. and arrive back on campus by 8:45 p.m. At the shelter you will meet a wide variety of residents.
Relay for Life: After cancer hit home for SAU students when a beloved chaplain and a SAU student were diagnosed with the deadly disease, Spring Arbor students and staff banded together to organize a Relay for Life event on Spring Arbor’s athletic track. This event now takes place every spring.
Spring Break Mission Trips: For some students at Spring Arbor University, spring break is a lot more rewarding than relaxing. Each March, SAU sends about 100-200 students all over the nation to serve on missions trips. In past years, students have traveled to Mexico, Houston, Atlanta, Puerto Rico, Hamtramck, Texas, Kentucky, New York City, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Panama Beach, and the Navajo Nation.
Wellspring: Two groups that consist of singers and instrumental musicians that travel to camps throughout the summer leading worship. The group is very service based (90% service, 10% music) and is highly selective. Auditions are required to be a part of Wellspring.
Intramural Sports
Intramural sports allow students to engage in physical fitness through sports without the formality of intercollegiate competition. This year, SAU is offering the following intramural leagues for men and women:
- Basketball
- Sand Volleyball
- Flag Football
- Floor Hockey
- Indoor Soccer
- Indoor Volleyball
- Outdoor Soccer
- Ultimate Frisbee
- Pickleball