Presentation Night, hosted by the new Anthropology and Sociology Society (A.S.S) club, offered students a chance to kick back, relax and enjoy presentations about some of the club’s favorite topics.
The evening was filled with a wide variety of presentation topics, discussions and activities ranging from “appropriate club attire” to “bad drivers”. The presentations had a balance of lightheartedness, as well as good information to help connect the audience.
Olivia Rubio, a senior studying sociology, presented about neurologist Sigmund Freud and his journey with psychology and cocaine use. Freud has been a significant topic of study in many of Rubio’s anthropology courses.
“I’ve always been intrigued by psychoanalysis since I took Psyche and Society with Dr. Huberman,” Rubio said. “And, so thinking about that, I have known about (Freud’s) drug use so I just wanted to throw that out there and I thought it would be interesting to propose something insane.”
Lana Peregrina, a sophomore studying sociology, is a member of the club’s executive board and helped conduct the event. She was one of the first to present with a humorous presentation about how Golden Doodles are evil.
“We want to put our education to use, but we also want people to connect and have fun,” Peregrina said. “You can’t be serious all the time.”
Susie Donaldson is the faculty advisor for A.S.S. She worked to build communication between students, who then coordinated the event. Presentation night provided a fun environment for students to make connections.
“A lot of students who came to this club, they hadn’t really met each other,” Donaldson said. “They’ve seen each other in classes, but haven’t really had that time to connect. So it’s kind of just a nice space to get to know people who are in your major.”
While the club is not only for majors, the club is making attempts to encourage students to study sociology and anthropology by hosting upbeat and engaging events.
“Sociology and anthropology are like studying social culture, the social world is our world,” Peregrina said. “So we’re making that knowledge more accessible to all kinds of students.”
Although A.S.S club is not officially on Roo Groups yet, they are already making preparations for upcoming events. ASS is looking to expand its club and help younger students work up to leadership roles within the club. They also plan to do several events to give back to the Community.
They plan to work with YDSA for their Know Your Rights training on Nov. 19 as well as partner up with a local nonprofit to give back to the community.
