Pillars of student life: Get to know some of the clubs at KPU
From subject-focused to cultural clubs, there are many groups students can join to connect with the campus community
Students attended the KSA's Fall 2024 Clubs Day event on Oct. 31 at the Surrey campus. (Suneet Gill)
The Kwantlen Student Association brought the spirit of Halloween to life on Oct. 31 with its Fall 2024 Clubs Day event at Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Surrey Conference Centre.
With dim, orange lighting, eerie music, a buffet and festive treats, and an on-theme photo booth, the event allowed students to get into the spooky spirit all while meeting and learning about the various clubs at KPU — each of which were equally dressed for the occasion with costumes and decorations.
Here’s a breakdown of the different clubs at the event and what they offer to students.
KPU Sustainability Club
The KPU Sustainability Club is one of the newer clubs at the university, which aims to offer students a wealth of knowledge about sustainability with a focus on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — a blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet.
Through planned activities and events, the club works to educate students on how they can improve their lives from a sustainability lens.
“Our Earth is literally dying, and we all know the effects of climate change that’s happening. We’re getting a lot of wildfires and floods,” says Sharmin Malik, a member of the club.
“We think even [taking] a small step to achieve the SDGs will help impact how climate change has evolved, [and] not just within the environment, but also all of the species out there as well.”
The club provides students with opportunities to network and meet people with similar interests. It also has four different committees students can be a part of — finance, events, membership and administration, and communications and marketing.
Members can also join a Whatsapp group to coordinate events and communicate with each other.
Interested students can join the KPU Sustainability Club by filling out a Google form. To learn more about the club, check out the group’s Instagram account @sustainability_club_kpu.
Kwantlen Sikh Students’ Association
While only recently becoming affiliated with the KSA, the Kwantlen Sikh Students’ Association (KSSA) has been around at KPU since 2010, aiming to build a sense of community and raise awareness of who Sikhs are.
“Even though many people in this world are Sikh, the knowledge of what a Sikh is and who they are is very minimal nowadays,” club co-president Harmanjeet Singh says.
So, the club works to share what the true Sikh values are with the wider community.
“Sikh values are very much universal, so our aim is to see what can be better for humanity and see what we can contribute to that matter,” says Gavin Khaira, president of the club.
The KSSA puts on a variety of on and off-campus events related to Sikh ethos, from hosting speakers and social get-togethers to kirtans, which is the singing of hymns, typically with traditional instruments like a harmonium, tabla, and dilruba. They also go to prayer rooms to pray every Wednesday and are planning to start up a food drive.
“You can enhance your spiritual journey while having fun,” says Preet Singh, treasurer of the club. “We just want to promote inclusiveness on campus and we want to build a community that’s open to everyone.”
On Nov. 23, the club will host a Rainsbai kirtan at the Gurdwara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar in Surrey, which typically follows Rehraas Sahib (evening prayer) and goes late into the night.
To learn more about the KSSA, visit the club’s Instagram page @ssakwantlen.
KPU Malayali Club
“സുഖമാണോ!” (sukha-mah-no). That is what students first heard at the KPU Malayali Club’s table at the event. സുഖമാണോ means “How are you,” and it’s how Malayalis greet each other when they meet, club member Shervin Shaju says.
The Malayali Club is new at KPU. It held its first event — Chaya and Kadi Meet and Greet — in July. The goal of the club is to create a community for South Indians at KPU to come together to share and celebrate.
“We just want them to be active and work on events,” Shaju says. “You can also explore your hobbies …. We have opportunities for everything.”
Shaju says the club is hoping to hold some events later this semester around Christmas and for New Year’s.
Students interested in joining the club can follow @kwantlen.malayali.club on Instagram.
KPU Dance Club
The KPU Dance Club is another newer club at the university that aims to engage students in dance — an outlet to destress and connect with others.
The club focuses on a variety of dance styles including Bollywood, hip hop, and semi-classical, and brings dance to the community through teaching workshops, dance competitions, and social meet-and-greet events.
“Students can expect a fun, supportive environment where they can explore different dance styles, improve their skills, and connect with others who share the same passion,” club president Khushmandeep Kaur previously told The Runner.
“Dance is important because it’s not just a physical activity but also a creative outlet that helps to connect with others, learn new skills, and take a break from our busy lives.”
Members of the KPU Dance Club put on a Halloween-themed performance at the Fall 2024 Clubs Day event. They also performed at Diwali Fest’s Surrey City Hall event on Oct. 20.
To learn more about the KPU Dance Club, visit its Instagram page @kpu_danceclub. To join the club, direct message its Instagram account or send an email to kpudanceclub@gmail.com.
KPU Cricket Club
The KPU Cricket Club was formed in October last year by KPU alumnus Gurlal Singh.
The club won the British Columbia Mainland College University League earlier this year, and now wants to focus on promoting more women’s participation in cricket, club president Kunwar Joshi says.
“[I believe] we are the top university right now in British Columbia, in terms of cricket, and now it’s our turn to dominate in women’s cricket as well.”
Joshi says the club is also looking for sponsors for advertising and helping its members compete in different tournaments.
The club offers free weekly indoor drop-in sessions from 6:00 to 9:00 pm at the KPU Surrey gymnasium every Thursday. It also organizes skill-building sessions and watch parties regularly, which the club announces on its Instagram page @kpucricketclub.
“We are most welcome to hear from you, whenever you want us,” Joshi says.
Students can sign up for the club by emailing kpucricketclub@gmail.com or filling out its membership form.
Hindu Student Association (HSA)
The Hindu Student Association (HSA) at KPU aims to promote aspects of the Hindu culture and traditions through events and festivals.
The club also works to bring students together and build an inclusive and supportive community. The HSA organizes events for various Hindu festivals such as Dussehra, Diwali, Maha Shivaratri, Janmashtami, Holi, and more.
The club started in August and aims to host events to bring students together and have fun, club president Tejas Pathania says.
“Most of us are international students so they don’t usually get that sense of community,” he says. “We are away from home and our best aim is to give everyone a feeling of home.”
To join the club, students can email kwantlenhsa@gmail.com or text 778-952-2962.
K-Drama Club
The KPU K-Drama Club started earlier this year in January.
Club president Sukhmanpreet Parmar says that the club offers a place for students to get together and talk about their favourite K-dramas.
“Everybody who likes to watch [K-dramas] has this particular platform where they can talk to the people who also like the same thing.”
The club hosts weekly events at Grassroots Cafe on the Surrey campus, where members get together to watch K-drama series and play Korean games.
Parmar says she is looking into planning more events in the future such as a fashion night where students can dress up as their favourite K-drama characters.
Students can join the club by emailing kdramaclub0@gmail.com and filling out an availability form to indicate when they are free, so the club can schedule events accordingly.
To learn more about upcoming events, visit @kpu_kdrama_club.
Kwantlen Creative Writing Guild
The Kwantlen Creative Writing Guild has been at KPU for a while, club co-president Usha Gunatilake says.
“We do all kinds of fun, slightly unhinged, slightly crazy [activities] where you can just let it all out and put it on paper.”
The club offers students the opportunity to workshop their writing pieces and helps them with feedback for assignments and projects. It also hosts weekly writing activities for different genres of English literature.
The club will be organizing comic-writing workshops and putting together a book club in the future, Gunatilake says.
Students can join the club on Discord and follow its Instagram page @kpucreativewriting for updates on future events.
KPU Political Science Club
The KPU Political Science Club began in late September.
“We’re just creating a community of all the political science, criminology students, anyone who’s interested,” club president Gurveen Khehra says.
The club offers a space for students passionate about politics, international relations, and policy debates to get together. It also organizes various networking events and creates opportunities for students to gain more information about law school.
Khehra says the club offers students the chance to make friends and meet other people in the political science department.
To find out more about the club and upcoming events, students can follow the club on its Instagram page @kpupolisciclub. Students can join the club by filling out its club membership form.
KPU Pre-Med Club
The KPU Pre-Med Club started last year and offers students interested in pursuing medicine the opportunity to volunteer and listen to speakers.
The club also guides students with volunteering, club vice-president Tanishqa Tanishqa says.
“A lot of people don’t know that volunteering is important when they start university because a lot of international students are not aware about it,” Tanishqa says.
“But with our club, we give you the opportunity to [volunteer]. We do constantly collaborate with people, so that you are able to build up your resume when you apply for med school and you are pretty prepared for that and you know how to go through it.”
At meetings, she says members discuss the club along with updates related to medicine, such as information about caring for patients from marginalized communities and insights on Canadian med schools that can be useful for applications.
Interested students can follow the club’s Instagram page @premed.kpu and reach out by emailing kpu.premed.club@gmail.com.
KPU SOCA (Students of Caribbean and African) Descent Club
The KPU SOCA Club launched this spring and offers students of African and Caribbean descent the opportunity to connect with each other.
“The club is open to everyone,” club president Lotanna Uzomah says, “but the reason why we want students and students of Caribbean and African descent to stop by is to continue to build and grow the community, to spread information, to communicate, and to just make friends.”
The club hosts meetings, events, and social gatherings to foster relationships with members and students, Uzomah says.
Interested students can follow the club’s Instagram page @kpusoca and reach out by emailing kpusoca@gmail.com.
Barkat
Barkat is a menstrual awareness initiative that launched a few months ago at KPU, but has existed since 2021. It promotes talking about periods across all KPU campuses and the greater community.
“Barkat means prosperity in Punjabi, so it’s just that periods aren’t a bad thing,” Barkat president Muskandeep Kaur says.
“Barkat got its name from its founder, Manvinder. He was in high school and he saw this little girl who got her period, and she was on the road, and nobody was helping her.”
Barkat wants to end period poverty among those who are unhoused as period products are not donated enough. Kaur says Barkat is planning to hold a donor event where people can bring in period products to donate.
Having grown up in a society where periods weren’t accepted, Kaur says Barkat is a passion project very close to her heart.
“[Barkat] is something different, it’s unique, it’s purely based on passion,” Kaur says. “I would say, as a female, as a uterus owner, it’s something to feel represented in.”
Students wanting to join Barkat can head to www.changewithbarkat.com and visit the contact page, or fill out its registration form.
Other student-led clubs at KPU include the ASK Club, Bible Study @ Kwantlen, the Health Science Club, the Kwantlen Human Resources Association (KHRA), the KSA Anime Club, the KPU Anthropology Society, the KPU Bhangra Club, the KPU Music Club, the KPU Model UN Club, the KPU OTM Club, the KPU Pride Society, the Kwantlen Art Collective, and the Kwantlen Nepalese Student Association.
There is also the Kwantlen Psychology Society, the Kwantlen Gaming Guild, Kwantlen Geographers, the Kwantlen IT Club, Muslim Student Association, the School Outreach Ministry, the Japan Club, the Kwantlen Pageturners, the Kwantlen Debate Club, the KPU Marketing Association, the Sustainable Agriculture Student Association, and the Stem Roots Club.
To learn more about the clubs at KPU, visit www.kusa.ca.
