The spring 2026 semester has brought with it a variety of new student-led clubs to the University of North Florida.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Students often struggle with feeling lonely at university. According to a 2022 study<\/a> by the American College Health Association, 64% of students said they felt lonely the previous year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Student-led clubs provide opportunities to find community on campus. From thought-provoking conversations to therapeutic activities, the presidents of these new clubs said they hope that their events will help new students get plugged into the college community.<\/p>\n Think Tank<\/p>\n Think Tank is a club all about broadening your mind, said the club president, Jaiyana Fleet.\u00a0<\/p>\n Think Tank is an interdisciplinary club that wants to encourage students to learn about new topics and intellectual concepts through fun conversations and activities, according to Fleet.<\/p>\n Fleet said she started the club after she realized that disciplines such as politics, law, technology, and other STEM-related ones are connected.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything is very intertwined in the world,\u201d Fleet said. \u201cYou need to know a lot of things.\u201d<\/p>\n In this club, Fleet said she hopes that students can learn about other disciplines through engaging conversations. She said she loves the idea of thinking for oneself and hopes that students will learn that skill through this club.<\/p>\n Think Tank already had a Jeopardy night and a Pop the Balloon event this semester. She said she hopes that events like these will facilitate engaging conversations while still being fun.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wanted places that were fun, that encouraged conversation, encouraged public thinking, and really encouraged critical thinking,\u201d Fleet said.<\/p>\n Fleet said that students can expect to make friends and have conversations with other students.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019d be a very interactive club. It\u2019s not really a club where you\u2019d just be able to sit quietly\u2026You\u2019re going to expect a lot of icebreaker-type events, but eventually it helps you build community,\u201d Fleet said.<\/p>\n Fleet also hopes students will come with an open mind. \u201cThe big expectation is just to have an open mind, and also just expect to be challenged, like, mentally, critically, and respectful[ly],\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Fleet\u2019s \u201cbiggest takeaway\u201d is for students to be able to converse and respectfully disagree with each other.<\/p>\n Students can keep track of the club\u2019s activity through their Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Coloring Club<\/p>\n The Coloring Club, founded by Ella Reese and Caitlyn Rideout, is a brand-new club that seeks to facilitate community building and help students unwind.<\/p>\n Reese and Rideout said that they found coloring therapeutic and relaxing, and thought that other students might too. They said that they hope that in the midst of a long week, students can come to unwind and color.<\/p>\n They also hope that students can have conversations and make friends.<\/p>\n Reese and Rideout emphasized that students do not have to have any artistic skills to come.\u00a0<\/p>\n They said they want students to come, have fun, unwind, and meet other students. While not necessary, they said students are welcome to bring their own coloring materials, as well.<\/p>\n The club meets weekly on Tuesdays at 4:30 p.m. in building 57, room 2120.<\/p>\n The club\u2019s updates can be found on its Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n UNF Caribbean Ospreys Association<\/p>\n The new UNF Caribbean Ospreys Association (COA) offers a look into Caribbean culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n The president of COA, Danica Davidson, said she founded the club because she felt that UNF needed a club that centered around Caribbean culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe started this club\u2026to, sort of, cultivate a space for people of Caribbean descent,\u201d Davidson said, \u201cor those who are just willing to learn about Caribbean culture.\u201d<\/p>\n Davison said that students of any descent are welcome to join.<\/p>\n The club plans to have one or two meetings every week. It currently meets at the language lab (building 15, room 1105). The club has already hosted a trivia night this semester and a Black Diaspora event with the Black Thought Club.<\/p>\n Students can get updates through Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n Arab Student Union<\/p>\n UNF now has a club all about Middle-Eastern culture called the Arab Student Union (ASU).<\/p>\n Louris Moamar, the club president, said that the goal of the club is \u201cto celebrate our culture.\u201d<\/p>\n This club is not just for Arab students, according to Moamar. She said that she wanted to share her culture with those unfamiliar with it.<\/p>\n \u201cOur goal\u2026is to have students feel welcome. So, we don\u2019t really want to leave anyone hanging out to dry,\u201d said Sammy Safar, the treasurer of ASU.<\/p>\n Moamar is planning many social events, such as sporting events, Pilates, picnics, and a calligraphy session.\u00a0Not all of these events will incorporate Arab culture. Some of them will just be fun social events, according to Moamar. \u201c[The club] doesn\u2019t just mainly focus on Arab culture,\u201d Moamar said.<\/p>\n While the events are not centered around Arab culture, Moamer said that she does plan on incorporating her culture in some of them, such as writing Arabic letters in calligraphy. She said she also plans on having Mediterranean food at some of these events.<\/p>\n Moamar and Safar said they want to have social events throughout the semester. \u201cThat way, there\u2019s always an event popping up and people always\u2026have something to come to,\u201d said Safar.<\/p>\n Students can get updates through ASU\u2019s Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Collective UNF<\/p>\n The Phi Kappa Phi Club (PKP) has rebranded and is now known as The Collective UNF. This interdisciplinary club focuses on community service, according to one of the club presidents, Morgan Cutler.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cutler said that she saw a need for a club that did not have a particular niche or commitment process. \u201cWhen I talked to students at UNF\u2026they didn\u2019t feel like they belonged,\u201d Cutler said, \u201cor that, when they went to clubs, they didn\u2019t have a friend,\u201d said Cutler.<\/p>\n Cutler said she hopes that this club will be a place where students can \u201cbe themselves without a niche.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey needed a club that allows students to just be able to come\u2026and\u2026 grow within that club,\u201d Cutler said.<\/p>\n The club\u2019s activities will focus on community work and local impact. In the past, it has served different local impact organizations, such as the Ronald McDonald House, according to Cutler.<\/p>\n The club will host the Social Mixer toward the end of the semester. Last semester, this event gathered around 30 clubs and 130 students, according to Cutler. At this event, a variety of clubs gather to hang out on the green. It is an opportunity for clubs to promote themselves, and for students from different clubs to interact, according to Cutler.<\/p>\n Cutler said she plans to have one academic, one social, and one service event every month. For example, an academic event could be a study session, and a service event could be helping a local impact organization.\u00a0<\/p>\n But ultimately, Cutler wants to hear from students to decide what events to plan. She said the events are informal and are simply what she has heard students want to do, and she hopes that this club will feel like a family.<\/p>\n \u201cIt should feel like people who show up for each other,\u201d Cutler said.<\/p>\n Cutler said the club gives updates through GroupMe <\/a>and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n For more information or news tips, or if you see an error in this story or have any compliments or concerns, contact [email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n