For many students, fall is one of the most exciting times of the year at Augustana. In reality, every season here has its perks, but fall brings many unique events to Augie’s campus. 

There are a multitude of activities to get involved in during fall term, and paired with brisk weather and a coffee from the Brew, students have a lot to keep themselves busy. 

Junior Feven Ferede, president of Augustana’s Physics and Engineering Society (APES), hopes to help bring a sense of community to campus amongst the students who are curious about physics or engineering. She also hopes to promote a sense of inclusivity for those who might feel nervous about attending a club based around science and math. 

Every fall, APES has an apple picking event where they go to Stone’s Apple Barn and pick apples to make caramel apples. The apples are then sold as a fundraiser to help pay for other events and activities the club hosts. 

Apple picking with the physics club is a good example of APES’s desire to include everyone  interested in a low-stakes and relaxed activity. The apples are chosen as an allusion to Isaac Newton’s theory of gravity. 

“Newton found out about gravity when he was sitting under an apple tree and it just hit him in the head,” Ferede said. “It’s something fun for people who love apples or even like the barn that we go to.” 

APES also has an annual Halloween party in Hanson. They have science themed activities and food. “Last year, we had liquid nitrogen ice cream, and then we just had a little bit of a mixer. There were a lot of members and staff who showed up,” Ferede said. 

Ferede mentioned that APES is about to launch some new engineering projects that they have been working on for the past year. They will periodically host launch events for these projects that the campus community can attend. 

APES works every year to include community outreach for their events. Last year, the group had an open house in Hanson where everyone was invited to come and learn about physics. “Different people with their families came and showed little kids some cool physics concepts, and different rooms in Hanson had particular physics concepts,” Ferede said. 

For the sorority Zeta Phi Kappa (Zeta), fall is a time to promote unity and inclusion. Senior Zeta President Lauren Pillion says that the major objective for this fall is supporting their sisters at events while also bettering themselves.

Zetas will be working alongside Sigma Pi Delta and Chi Alpha Pi to provide period products for all of the bathrooms on campus. They will also be collaborating with the Omicron Sigma Omicron fraternity for a karaoke and trivia night where “the winning proceeds will go to the philanthropy of their choice” Pillion said. 

The Zetas will be having a pre-rush event Oct. 28 where potential members are strongly encouraged to attend. They will be painting pumpkins and getting to know each other a little better. “We will be doing a small pumpkin painting project. And since it is so close to Halloween, we encourage anybody that wants to dress up for Halloween to do so,” Pillion said. 

Pillion’s main goal for the fall time is to promote Greek unity on campus. She feels it is extremely important to be able to reach out to other groups for help because this campus is a community. She also wants to provide the campus with fun and interesting activities to do during the week or on weekends. 

“We want to provide this campus with some fun times, and being able to have something to do during the week or on a weekend other than sitting at home,” Pillion said. 

Senior Gareth Kent, president of Rho Nu Delta, said their main event for this fall is Oktoberfest, which is done in conjunction with Sigma Pi Delta. This event has been going on for a few years now, and it is something that campus always looks forward to. 

“We’ll sell shirts in the Brew next week for people that want to go. We’ll have raffles, games, prizes and drink and food deals. Then all the money that we raise through that will go to Closet to Closet, which is a nonprofit in the Quad Cities that provides clothes and hygiene products to youth [in foster care],” Kent said. 

Kent believes that Augustana in the fall is a special time because everyone comes together on campus after being apart for a while. This excitement helps to foster a good environment for fun events happening on campus.

“We are all coming back to the place that brings us all together, so we’re excited to see each other, and we want to spread that joy and excitement and get other people excited to be back on campus,” Kent said. 

Other events in the fall include Mr. Augustana (Mr. A), which is a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Mr. A is an annual event where men can compete and show off their talents for a good cause, which will take place on Oct. 16. On Oct. 5, there will be a study abroad fair at 11 am to encourage students to study abroad and highlight the opportunities Augustana provides. Augustana has a lot of ways to get involved in the fall, and it makes for a lively, inclusive and compelling semester.