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Syracuse University sophomore Asha Duerden was looking at the SU Reddit page when she saw people talking about how they felt isolated and were having a difficult time making friends during the pandemic.

Duerden decided that it would be helpful to have a club specifically for making friends, regardless of members’ interests.

Duerden then turned to fellow SU sophomore Alexa Policano to create a new club on campus called A Friendly Face club. Most clubs on campus are for specific interests, such as First-Year Players and comedy clubs. The goal of A Friendly Face club is for people of all different backgrounds and interests to become friends, and it strives to be a community where people feel comfortable being themselves.

“The purpose of the Friendly Face club is to create a general space for people to make friends safely in a time where it’s really hard to meet new people because of COVID,” Policano said.

Duerden got the idea for the club from the pandemic, but she would be interested in the work the club is doing even if the pandemic wasn’t happening, she said.

Although A Friendly Face club is not directly affiliated with SU, the organization is planning to register the club either next semester or fall 2021 semester.

A Friendly Face Club’s first meeting started with introductions and led to a group conversation about the semester and how classes are going. Courtesy of Asha Duerden

The first official club meeting took place on Friday around 4 p.m. The club sent a newsletter with the Zoom link to attend the meeting to 11 people. In addition to Duerden and Policano, three people joined the meeting.

“I think every club’s first meeting is always awkward and people usually find it difficult to connect with one another,” said Joah Burkhart, a club participant.

The first meeting started with introductions and led to a group conversation about the semester and how classes are going. Policano and Duerden offered up a bunch of potential games the members could play, such as Pictionary, Celebrity Guess Who and a PowerPoint presentation party.

Looking back at the first meeting, Policano is happy with how it went. Meeting online was a little impersonal, as compared to meeting in person, Burkhart said.

“For not actually being an official registered club we did OK,” Policano said. “We had a few technical difficulties so it could have gone smoother, but I think it was pretty successful.”

Students interested in joining the club can submit a Google Form in A Friendly Face’s Instagram bio to sign up to receive the newsletter.

“Ideally it would grow to be suitable for everyone that may need it,” Policano said. “We’re hoping that eventually in the future if everybody gets more comfortable and we can plan things where we can meet and actually talk in person.”

Published on November 10, 2020 at 11:12 pm