Binghamton University kicked off the first Saturday of the semester with the 25th annual University Fest (UFest) as over 200 student organizations, 30 vendors and 30 departments tabled in the Peace Quad.

The event, which featured giveaways, inflatables, a dog parade and a ferris wheel, was initially created 25 years ago as a way to welcome students back for the new school year. However, it has since expanded, and new and returning students are now able to see all the different clubs and groups offered at BU while simultaneously enjoying the various attractions, free merchandise and food.

According to Pete Sylvester, public relations chair for the Binghamton Transfer Student Association and a senior majoring in accounting, events like UFest are a great opportunity for students to explore different clubs to see what they may be interested in.

“The school’s so big and vast, there’s a lot of options that it’s hard to sort out,” Sylvester said. “Even UFest is pretty big, but it is a great opportunity to see what your interests are.”

According to Rollie Buchanan, assistant director for Transfer Student Services, events like UFest are not only important for incoming freshmen, but also for transfer students.

“For new transfer students, [UFest] is getting them connected to the institution, to the clubs, to the departments, to the organizations that have something to offer,” Buchanan said. “They will find their own community in the larger Binghamton community to connect to [and] once the student feels connected, they’re more likely to be successful academically and in general moving forward.”

The annual event also offers transfer students access to University resources, a connection that is particularly important as some students may be vulnerable to transfer shock, or the tendency for transfer students to experience a temporary dip in grade point average during their first or second semester at their new school.

Victoria Lococo, graduate assistant for Transfer Student Services and a first-year graduate student studying public administration and student affairs, said she personally experienced transfer shock when she first transferred to BU, which is why she wants other transfer students to know about the resources available to them.

“My GPA at my old school was close to a 4.0 and when I got here it went down to a 3.0, which is normal and expected,” Lococo said. “We use [UFest] as a way to show the whole population, not just transfers, what the office does — letting them know they have a person to go to, an office to go to.”

According to Xian Li, a sophomore majoring in sociology, UFest was a bit overwhelming as a new transfer.

“I think there’s a lot of people and a lot of stuff going on that if you were interested in clubs, it would be hard to get to know the club,” Li said. “It would be better if specific clubs like fraternities and sororities were under one day and something else another day because I feel like you can’t even tell which section is for fraternities and sororities, which section is for other clubs.”

However, for transfer students like Theresa Grillo, a junior majoring in English, UFest offered a chance to get involved in the BU community.

“I am a little bit nervous to go up to things, but I’m definitely excited to go to all the tables to see what’s here because I definitely want to get involved,” Grillo said.