Activities Fair

Most schools hold an activities fair at the beginning of the academic year. This is a great opportunity for your club to recruit new members and increase awareness of Ayn Rand on campus. Here are the best tips & advice from seven successful club leaders!

Preparation In Advance

  • Setup an email list and a Facebook group before the fair & make sure all info is up-to-date. Make sure your Facebook group has both "Ayn Rand" and "Objectivism" in the name (so it appears under both searches). A website is nice to have as well but it's the least important of the three.
  • Order pamphlets and books from ARI well in advance of the fair (Order from ARI). The more options the better as you never know what will catch someone's attention. ARI offers: "'Man’s Rights' and 'The Nature of Government'", "The Philosophy of Objectivism: A Brief Summary", "Philosophy: Who Needs It", "Health Care is Not a Right", "Environmentalism: The Anti-Industrial Revolution" or "Religion vs. America". You may also be able to get free copies ofThe Ayn Rand Sampler, people really like getting this for free. Lastly, consider brochures for theAtlas Shruggedessay contest and the Objectivist Academic Center and handing out copies of The Undercurrent.
  • Buy ~5 copies of Atlas Shrugged and raffle them off. Make people sign-up to the mailing list to enter the raffle.
  • Use stick-on labels or a rubber stamp (order free from VistaPrint) to include your club's contact info on every handout.
  • Display copies of Ayn Rand's fiction & non-fiction books on the table, a lot of students will recognize something they've read and be intrigued.
  • Free candy will help draw people to your table. (Remember not to use chocolate if you are tabling during warm weather or in direct sunlight because it will melt.) A candy dish can help.
  • Bring masking tape, scissors, rubber bands, and trash bags.
  • Plan for wind or rain: something to anchor your papers down if it’s windy or protect them if it’s raining. The vertical, plastic single-sheet holders found at most office supply stores are helpful for this.
  • Create a sign-up sheet (or download our template) and print lots of copies. Bring 2 or 3 clipboards and tie pens to them so people don't have to wait in line to sign-up on the list.
  • If you're feeling ambitious, poster the the campus a few days in advance to create extra name recognition (download our poster templates)
  • Also for the ambitious, decide your meeting schedule for the whole semester and have this available as a hand-out. View our suggested meeting list (we're creating discussion guides for every one of these meetings).
  • Big Poster: One of your most important pieces of tabling equipment is the poster you put on the front of your table. The poster should be readable from a distance and feature the words "Ayn Rand" in very large letters. Ayn Rand's name will be the #1 draw, most people have not heard of "Objectivism". A well-made (re-usable) sign that you print at Kinkos ($0.75 sq/ft) makes your club look classy and like an established entity, not a bunch of hacks that threw together a butcher-paper sign 30 minutes ago. Re-using a good sign also helps make you memorable and recognizable at future events.
  • Club t-shirts that everyone wears on the day of the event really catch attention

Day of the Event

  • Arrive 30 minutes early to set up before any students arrive and to secure a good location that sees a lot of foot traffic.
  • The more people to man the table the better. Students often come by in waves so you can quickly be short-handed. Students are more likely to approach your table if the people occupying it are pleasant-looking, friendly, collected, and well-spoken. Don't wear sunglasses, if it's sunny use a hat. Have both male and female club members at the table if possible.
  • If you have time before things really get under way, take a club info sheet (not literature) around to other clubs you think might be sympathetic or complementary to your club, and introduce yourself. Go for quality not quantity, don't visit the clubs that will likely be hostile, just a handful of ones that have the best chance of being sympathetic. People manning club tables are obviously the sort that join clubs and, even better, take a leadership role in clubs and can be counted on to help. These are good people to have around if they are interested in joining. But be wary of co-hosting events or starting to discuss partnerships.
  • Observe what other successful clubs at your school do to attract attention at these fairs and adopt their practices.

Attracting Attention

  • Smile!
  • Actively engage students who pass by their tables, don't just sit there and wait for them to approach. Stand around the table and try handing out differently flyers and ask if they've ever read Atlas Shrugged or heard of Ayn Rand.
  • Mention the raffle to win a free copy of Atlas Shrugged
  • Shaking hands and ask people's names can go a long way.
  • When people do approach the table, ask them to sign-up for the mailing list. A lot of people are shy and need a little nudge. Tell them that it doesn't commit them to coming to meetings but only to keep them apprised of upcoming meetings & events.
  • Mention to people that you meet weekly! A lot of new students, especially freshman, are looking to get involved in groups where they can meet and get to know people.
  • End the interaction with, "It's very good to meet you, Sally. I hope to see you at our meetings!"

Explaining Your Club & Answering Questions

Overall, be professional but show that your club is fun. This is a matter of your attitude when you talk to others and how you describe your club.

What is Objectivism

"It's the philosophy of Ayn Rand who wrote Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. Have you read anything by Ayn Rand?

More answer...

"Ayn Rand wrote: 'My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.' (just memorize this, it's worth it) She advocated reason not faith, logic, science, technology, industry, and business, and says that your own happiness is the moral purpose of your life.

What is this club?

"It's a philosophy club. Our approach is to treat philosophy like a science--philosophy should give rational, practical guidance for living one's life. We primarily meet to read and talk about Ayn Rand's writings, debate personal, social, and culture issues. And we have social events. It's really a lot of fun. It's not only for philosophy students, it's open for anyone who is interested in thinking about these issues.

Random questions? Don't try to answer more than very basic, general questions about Objectivism. The point is to get people to come to your meetings. If they ask about the Objectivist position on X, give them some literature if it's available, and other than that, tell them just enough to seem provocative and tell them they can find out more by coming to your meetings.

Questions you can't answer?The best answer you can give is to say "I don't know." Explain that you're interested in Ayn Rand but you're not an expert on her and encourage them to come to the meeting to talk about that further.

Arguing? Inevitably you're get some hecklers. More often than not it's best to not argue. Hand them a pamphlet that covers the issue they want to argue about, dismiss them politely and move onto people who have a genuine interest in understanding what you're about, not in trying to convince you you're wrong.Don’t expect to convince anyone of the truth of your position while tabling. Don’t frustrate yourself arguing with a person who simply wants to win an argument or belittle you. Above all, don't become defensive. Try to show students who are honestly interested in truth and living a good life that Ayn Rand’s ideas deserve further exploration and that your meetings are worth attending.

Lastly, don't be discouraged by people who walk away disagreeing. They may come to club meetings anyway after thinking about what was discussed.If you're concerned about talking to students about Objectivism, contact OCN to talk to a club mentor.

After The Event

  • Add everyone's name to your email list right away & send out an announcement. Remind them about your introductory mixer & your regular meeting times.
  • Email the winner of the Atlas Shrugged raffle and invite them to the meeting to pick it up.
  • Within your Facebook group send an invite to everyone. Everyone who accepts this invite will publish a story in their newsfeed so all their friends will see. This is a fantastic second-round of free marketing, and friends of people who are interested are often interested themselves.
  • Organize an introductory meeting for new members. Serve some snacks & drinks, show an introductory video. A great one is the Q&A on "What is Objectivism?" by Dr. Peikoff. (view online). Following this, have the president give a short speech pointing out club officers, future activities, and methods for further communication, ending with a Q&A.

This article was compiled by Maria McRaven based on advice from Katie Brakora, Dave Z, Ben B., Yuen Liang, Jason Crawford, and the LOGIC club.