Equipped with a new set of policies to reduce its usual congestion, this year’s Club Fest remained “difficult” for students to navigate — boasting two-hour lines and thousands of attendees. 

The biannual event is held at the Paulson Center by NYU’s Center for Student Life, as an opportunity for students to mingle with the university’s 300-plus clubs. This semester, Club Fest required participants to secure free tickets on Eventbrite in advance by registering for one of the three time slots — 1-2:10 p.m., 2:20-3:30 p.m or 3:40-5 p.m. Each time slot held at most 1,400 ticket holders, according to a staff member at the entrance. 

In the gymnasium, the clubs were organized into five rows based on their categories — ranging from community service organizations to literary magazines, ethnic clubs and Greek life. A fire alarm-esc timer went off at the end of each session to usher students out, regardless of when they arrived. 

“We were kind of rushing and trying to find the clubs that we were looking for,” CAS sophomore Angela Liu told WSN. “We couldn’t explore new ones that much because they were like, ‘Oh you guys got to get out.’ I was like, ‘Wow, I didn’t even get to talk to anyone.’” 

The RSVP line and the standby lines were divided side-by-side on Bleecker Street, stretching past the neighboring Morton Williams and south toward Houston Street. The standby line closed quickly when RSVP’d participants filled the venue, prompting students to disperse to other lines, such as the one for club leaders, to find a new way in.

“It was a bit difficult for me at the start because there was the standby line and then the RSVP,” Tandon first-year Agamjot Kaur told WSN. “So I had to walk all the way down.” 

The line for participating club leaders was situated across from the one for attendees, resulting in some students waiting in the wrong line. Club leaders who arrived at the initial check-in time, around 11 a.m., were also confronted with an over-half-hour wait.

While it remains one of NYU’s most popular events, Club Fest has faced criticism for its chaotic nature in previous years. Students described spending most of their time waiting in lines, with some having to abandon their place due to class schedules or commitments. 

“I think they need to lessen the amount of tickets available for each session,” Liu said. “You sign up, and then you only have 13 minutes to look around until they kick you out.”

Contact Natalie Deoragh and Kaitlyn Sze Tu at [email protected].