High school students across the state will be welcomed to campus for the 17th annual Rock ‘N Roar Festival. More than 3,000 students are expected to spread across campus participating in academic competitions.
Rock ‘N Roar Fest 2014 will take place on Saturday, Feb. 22 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will provide food, music and entertaining activities for students and chaperones.
The event began as a recruitment effort to showcase the Southeastern campus, academic programs and student life.
“The Alumni Association began Rock ‘N Roar in 1997 as a way to showcase our university and attract students to Southeastern and the local community,” said Kathy Pittman, director of the Alumni Association. “They began it as a recruitment event.”
According to Pittman, although the event will take place earlier than usual, participation isn’t expected to be affected.
“The participation is usually very good and sometimes larger than others depending on the weather,” added Pitman.
The rain forced last year’s event to be partially conducted indoors.
Rock ‘N Roar takes place on the same day as the local Literary Rally, where high school students come and compete in their best subjects. After the competitions, students have the opportunity to relax and enjoy a day of fun-filled events and networking with different departments and organizations.
Spirit groups and recognized student and Greek organizations have the opportunity to interact with potential students while participating in fundraisers for events, philanthropy and activities sponsored by their organization.
“There are kids’ camps in baseball, dance and art that local kids can attend, allowing them to see what Southeastern has to offer,” said Pitman.
In addition to food and activities, students also have the opportunity to view the campus, with competitions being held in various buildings around campus.
Each year, the Alumni Association coordinates with spirit groups, Greek and student organizations to greet students at the start of the event and welcome them to Southeastern. Education majors volunteer to work with the entertainment aspects while the Student Government Association and other student organizations participate through various activities and food booths. The event offers a way for organizations to earn funds and mingle with prospective students and their parents in a fun atmosphere.
With the addition of the Student Union Expansion scheduled to be complete in mid-February, Rock ‘N Roar is planned to be held in the new Student Union.
“Rock ‘N Roar Festival will be held inside the new Student Union Building, which is absolutely beautiful and state of the art,” said Pittman.  “There are also interactive educational displays from all the academic departments on campus.  These will be manned by professors who will answer questions about majors.”
Registration can be complete online at selu.edu/roarfest. For more information, contact Brendan Daigle at [email protected].