By Samantha Bogert

You see them around campus, you’re probably taking a class with them, and you are most likely attending some of the events that they put together weekly. Who are they exactly? They’re members of FAB – the Fitchburg Activities Board, an event-planning committee for the entire campus.
The team of students plays a major role in bringing the community of Fitchburg State together. “We offer a place to hang out with the friends you already have, or to meet new people, to grab a bite to eat or have a few laughs,” says Seferine Baez, the president of the FAB club.
The board manages to have the most outreach of all the clubs on campus, organizing at least four events per week. “We aim to provide diverse, collaborative, and engaging programs for the entire student population,” Baez says.
FAB puts on a variety of different activities. From events like bingo, where they give out $1,500 in prizes each time, to open mic, where anybody is allowed to showcase their talent, and their New York trip in December that sells out in a few days and fills two coach buses, FAB has a way of bringing the student body together. “There are so many campuses that plan one event a month or one a semester or one a year. I think what’s special about our programming committee is that we have so much going on,” Baez says.
The group also puts together Family Weekend, which they plan with the Office of Student Development and the Office of Alumni Development. But their largest event by far is Spring Week, which tends to happen late April, early May. They have two programs a day and a major event at the end of the week with an all-around theme. Hundreds of people show up for free t-shirts, giveaways, and performances by all types of acts.
Commuters also have an active part in the events that FAB plans. Each of the different event chair members is required to plan an activity that usually takes place around 3:30 p.m. over the course of the semester. “That ends up being about once a month when we have commuter-friendly events,” Baez says. However, commuters are also obviously welcome to the later events as well. They have many students who will do assignments on campus after their classes, attend the events and then head home, Baez said.
The club also accepts any ideas from everybody in the student body outside of the committee. They send out surveys at the end of every semester to get feedback about events they’ve already thrown and to get new ideas for events and activities that people would like to see in the future. “We’re also open to anyone and everyone. You could join at any point in time, whether it’s the beginning of the semester or the end,” Baez says. They meet on Mondays at 4:30 p.m. in the Main Lounge of the Hammond Building. Baez also recommends attending their events and asking for something to do, knowing they could always use a helping hand.
FAB has multiple ways of making sure FSU students know when events are. Some of them are the traditional ways, such as flyers, to large posters, banners, to table tents, and handbills and a-frames outside. In the last year and a half they’ve also used social media to their advantage. Individuals can follow them on Twitter, Instagram, Spotify, and Snapchat, where their username is @fsufab or they can like their Facebook page. The club uses their social media sites to give students information about upcoming events or to showcase them before and after.
“Every single member of the executive board and chairs will tell you that running these events and being an integral member of FAB is no easy task… FAB takes up a lot of time but it’s the most rewarding experience I’ve ever known,” Baez says.