MAC/SAC gears up for an exciting fall semester

Libby Bullinger, Copy editor

After a year of virtual events, MAC/SAC is geared up for a semester full of unique activities for students to engage in on campus. MAC/SAC stands for Multicultural Activities Council and Student Activities Council, and these two councils put on free events every Friday and Saturday for students so that the weekends are always filled with fun. According to the Campus Involvement page on the Hub, MAC “promotes diversity on campus through inclusion and commu-nication with diverse students” and SAC “hosts a wide variety of events for the student body.” Together, these two councils make up the collective Activities Council on campus.

The Activities Council is part of the greater Mercyhurst Student Government, which is comprised of student representatives that connect students to the rest of the university. Activities are often held in and around the Sister Carolyn Herrmann Student Union; however, MAC/SAC often takes occasional trips into Erie and beyond. Some examples of previous off-campus activity destinations include Presque Isle, Splash Lagoon, Pittsburgh and Niagara Falls.

This year the MAC/SAC co-chairs are junior Communications major Joey Franz and senior Fash-ion Merchandising major Janiece Withers. In addition to the chairs, there are eight programmers that help coordinate events for students on campus. Kali Beutler, a senior majoring in Integrated Media and Strategic Communication, is one of these programmers and has been involved with MAC/SAC since the beginning of her Mercyhurst experience. Some of the upcoming events Beutler mentioned she was excited for this semester are Ice Skating, Murder Mystery Dinner, Pottery Night and Campus Party. Campus Party is an event that used to be a campus tradition in the early days of Mercyhurst but has been lost over time.

Other events that Franz mentioned for the Fall 2021 semester were Open Mic Night, Just Dance and perhaps most importantly, Haunted Hurst. This Halloween-time event is both a tradition and fan favorite at Mercyhurst and is done in collaboration with the Ambassadors organization. “Students get the opportunity to get a campus tour from a dif-ferent perspective,” Franz said. There is something for everyone at Haunted Hurst with ghost stories, Halloween decorations and plenty of spooky surprises.

When asked where she draws programming inspiration from, Beutler said she usually asks her friends and other students on campus what they would like to see. “I also think about myself and what kind of fun events I want to go to,” she said.

Programmers have to come up with multiple events throughout the year, with some being repeat traditions and many others being brand new ideas. The structure of the Activities Council allows programmers and chairs to practice skills many of them will use following graduation like budgeting and event planning.

Programmers then present their ideas as a group. Franz and Withers are in charge of allocating how much of the council’s budget goes to each event. So far, the Activities Council has had great success in events such as Casino Night, Luke’s Birthday Bash, and CommUNITY Rocks.

Keep an eye out for the upcoming events this weekend: Yogurt and Yoga on Sept. 17 and Campus Party on Sept. 18. The Mercyhurst community is excited to see what else is in store at the hands of the MAC/SAC organization.