Various organizations passed out fliers Wednesday as part of the annual Party on the Plaza on Speedway, welcoming students back to campus.

Lunches sold to attendees, organization attendance fees and Scholarship Shootout raised money for the UT Student Emergency fund to support students facing emergencies or financial issues following tragic events, according to the UT
RecSports website. 

However, many students were not even aware of the charitable aspect of the Party on the Plaza.

“I definitely feel inclined to support this event more because it’s really helping the people around me,” electrical engineering freshman Luca Tomescu said. “It means more to me knowing that it has more of a direct impact for my own classmates.” 

Over 200 student organizations, as well as several sponsors and vendors, were set up and eager to inform and recruit prospective members. This gave students the opportunity to find a place on campus where they fit right in.

“Many people come for the big vendors at the event, so if they come to get free ice cream, I can give them a flier for Texas Latin Dance so I can let them know that we exist,” chemical
engineering senior Sara James said. “Coming to the event helps us get more members so we can get enough people to come to at least the first meeting.”

Many of the newer organizations have found success spreading their names and messages to students across campus during the event. Momentum Scholars, an organization hoping to help improve the education of public school students, made their debut during the event and attracted the attention of hundreds of students within the first few hours, according to business and biology sophomore Luke Imperial.

The event also had a big emphasis on the University’s RecSports department as many athletic organizations were present. Scholarship Shootout, a booth hosted by RecSports, gave students the opportunity to shoot a $1 basket for the chance to win a $2,000 scholarship.

“As RecSports, we touch so many students,” computational biology senior Hannah Kaiser said. “We are such a big organization that so many kids can find opportunities to join whether to just work out, play intramural sports or take classes.”

According to the RecSports website, Party on the Plaza has raised over $80,000 for the fund and other student-supporting organizations since 1999.