By Emily Calhoun

     On September 28th at 5:30pm, the Animal Friendly Organization held its first meeting for the fall semester.  By the time I arrived, around 5:25pm, the classroom the meeting was held in was already filled to capacity, with some people already sitting on the floor.  The group of students standing in the hallway continued to grow, so much so the president decided to take those of us in the hallway into the classroom next door, which we proceeded to fill.  Each student who went to the meeting was given a survey on a half-piece of paper when they arrived; its questions asked our opinions on where the trip this semester should be, our preference on the main service project, as well as any other ideas we had for the club.

     At 5:30, the president of the AFO began to explain the mission of the club and what membership entails.  She presented a short powerpoint that outlined some of the organizations the AFO is affiliated with and the many projects they lead and are involved in throughout the year.  These projects included bake sales, service projects, and volunteer opportunities.  The volunteer opportunities especially piqued my interest, as the club’s main focus is volunteering at the Atlantic County Animal Shelter.  The first opportunity to volunteer is on Monday, and I hope that I will be able to attend and be an active member of this club.  Finally, the president explained the options for the trip this semester.  We all filled out our preferences on our surveys and the meeting ended.  The meeting was very brief, only fifteen minutes from beginning to end; she explained that meetings are typically short since most of the important information and events are discussed by email and in the Facebook group.