Every year in the fall semester, the university plans Keweenaw Day, also known as K-Day, as an opportunity for students to come together and connect with organizations on campus. Unlike last year’s event, which was held in the SDC due to poor weather, this year it was at the Centennial Park in Chassell, with class being dismissed at noon for the event. Buses ran back and forth from the park carrying students to the event, all free of charge.
This year, K-Day boasted nearly 250 of the total 300 Registered Student Organizations (RSO) . “Somewhere between two and three hundred, I wanna say right around 250,” said Jos Olson, a Residential Education Coordinator. This made way for a large variety of organizations, including but not limited to sports teams, fan clubs, and Greek Life, represented by tents set up on the shoreside. Dozens of activities took place such as log rolling and canoe racing on the water, fraternity dunk tanks, pickleball matches, jumping competitions, parachute waving, cornhole, and even makeshift curling.
Students turned out to represent their organizations to newcomers, adding plenty of color to a lively event. Bronwyn Broestl, a member of the Swing Club, said, “It’s so swinging right now.” If the energy of the day could be put into three words, Parker Williams, Treasurer of the Maple Syrup Club, described it as “sticky, sweet, and chill.” When asked why K-Day is important to the Full Throttle Motorcycle Club, member Josh Sata said, “It’s a great chance to be out here and be with everybody, you know, a lot of the time we’re out on the road, and Houghton’s a small town so this is a great chance to be in the scenery with everybody.”
K-Day is a long-standing tradition here at MTU starting all the way back in 1951. This tradition is known for being a great time for new and old students alike to be introduced to the different student organizations, meet new people, and enjoy free food. “It’s a great day to get out of class and go meet everyone,” said Olson. With each organization getting a chance to recruit new members, as well as each student getting to enjoy a fun filled Friday afternoon, it was a win-win.
