Your Job as a Society Executive: End of The Year Events

Written by Leah Oake 

Banner Photo by Ibrahim Boran on Unsplash

It's that time of year when university students anxiously wrap up their final papers and cram for exams. Whether it is an overwhelming number of research papers for an English student or an abundance of final exams for a biology student, everyone is under stress and academic pressure. On top of these heightened academic moments, societies are preparing to transition into their newly elected executive team and host final events for the end of the term. Societies are faced with the challenging task of planning a semester-capping occasion. This can be confusing because not only are they navigating through issues ensuring members attend these events, but they also have to battle the dreaded exam season. Students are more likely to focus on school than go to an end-of-the-year bake sale. So, the question is: how can societies plan an end-of-the-year event that will be successful? Well, that is what I am here to answer today! End-of-the-year events are crucial for a society’s morale and engagement, and ensuring your society has a successful plan is essential.

Step One: Timing

When planning an event (no matter the time of the year) timing is always important to consider. People are more likely to attend an event at 7:00 pm on a Thursday instead of 2:00 pm on a Monday. At Saint Mary’s University, there is a bit of leeway because the majority of students have an almost entirely free schedule on Fridays. Events should be planned after regular class hours and on the most convenient date for the general student body. Labs are over on average at 5:30 pm, so plan for your event to be after that if you are rooting for the best possible turnout. Picking the date is easier. Events typically are better suited after the beginning of the week. Mondays are notorious for not working, so you don’t need to cite sources to believe that. The beginning of a new week means new assigned work and adjusting to the regular routine again. Tuesdays and Thursdays are the better days to pick. On Tuesdays, people are over the first-of-the-week blues and on Thursdays, people are ready to have fun after a long week. Friday can be a good choice, too, but be aware that people who live off campus will be reluctant to come unless the event is intriguing and new. 

Step Two: The Actual Event

When picking your event, you need to be extremely focused. Having a normal semester event will not generate the outcome you want. A general meeting, bake sale, or board game night is great for society’s sociable activities, but not a great idea for an end-of-the-year event. This is because everyone will likely already know each other so those beginning introductions are not necessary. If you are a big and already recognized society, you likely already have some sort of annual event in mind; gala, dinner, party, etc. So, stick with those events! If you know an annual event is popular, do not stray away from that – unless you have a bigger event in mind. If you are known for hosting a gala and you shift to a board game night as your end-of-the-year event, that may be jarring to the average member. Some events that your society could use that are “bigger” and known to be popular are as follows:

Galas: Ex., Environmental Gala!

Award Show: Ex., SMUDISES 

Night at the Gorsebrook: Ex., Can be wet and dry! Encompasses everyone and can be a nice night of dancing and having fun! 

Step Three: Promotion

The final step, and arguably the most important, is promotion. If you barely advertise your event, no matter how cool or new it is, people are not going to come. Personally, if I was scrolling and glanced quickly at a society's end-of-the-year event and I never saw anything about it again, I would forget about it. Promotion does not have to be just social media posts on Instagram. If you really want your event to be a success, you should do some (OR ALL) of the following: Instagram posts, Facebook posts, email your members, put up posters, get SMUSA to repost your event, contact your faculty advisor to promote your event, make TikToks! If you make it your society's mission to shove your event down everyone's throat, you will succeed with your hopeful turnout! Some useful tools for creating above-average social media posts are apps such as Capcut, Canva, or IMovie! These are all free and super fast to learn to use.

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

Societies are crucial for a university's student body to function. People need a community of like-minded people to fit in. Societies are known for creating everlasting friendships and fond memories. As a society executive, it is your job and responsibility to thank your members in a good way. Money does not have to be an issue, either. SMU is extremely lenient with societies and wants them to thrive. If you have any questions about spacing or expenses, contacting Conference Services or the Gorsebrook is always a great idea. Without your members, you would not be able to function and grow as a society. Be thankful, and thank them with an end-of-the-year celebration! Your members would not only love to attend, but they joined the society for a reason! People wouldn't join a society if they were not interested in what you were doing and did not want to support you. If you were elected into an executive position you need to ensure that you are not the only one being supported, you need to support your members, too.