"One Needle, One Thread"
| Location |
| 1300 Elmwood Ave |
| Hours 1 |
| Tuesday 12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m. |
| Phone |
| (716) 878-6701 |
| f[email protected] |
| Website |
| BengalConnect.com |
| Owner(s) |
| United Students Government |
| Established |
| Payment Method |
| Mandatory Student Activity Fee |
This page is done for a class project for COM336 Buffalo State College
History
The United Students Government at Buffalo State College recognizes the Fashion Students Association, also known as F.S.A. It is one of the many student life organizations recognized by the United Students Government. F.S.A was created in the mid 1980’s as primarily a fashion club for strictly fashion students. The club was focused on solely the actual art of fashion and design. After a long hiatus, the Fashion Students Association made their presence back on Buffalo State College’s campus in 2009. This time F.S.A was not limited to fashion majors. The organization expanded not only focusing on the art of fashion but also including pop-culture and lifestyle.
Mission Statement
According to The Fashion Students Association page on Bengal Connect, “The Fashion Students Association at Buffalo State College was formed to network with individuals who share a common interest in fashion, design, and art.” The president of F.S.A, Tia Gadson says, “Although it’s a fashion club, F.S.A focuses on more than fashion. We speak on pop-culture, current events, lifestyle and things that interest college students.” F.S.A goes beyond fashion and incorporates topics such as health, race, finances, careers and suicide. The organization also acknowledges the United Nations’ "International Day of the Girl", domestic violence awareness, autism awareness and breast cancer awareness. The organization's slogan is "One needle, one thread," to symbolize the unity in the organization.
Demographics
The Fashion Students Association’s members consist of various people with different ethnicities, majors and interests. Majority of the club’s members are Buffalo State undergraduate students. Students from other universities such as University of Buffalo, Canisius College, Erie County Community College and Daemen College have also participated in various programs and events held by F.S.A. Majority of the Fashion Students Association’s members aren’t fashion major nor aspire to have a career in fashion, however majority of the members do have an interest in fashion. A few of the clubs members are international students. Most of the members come from different cities around the country; some of the most common cities the members come from are New York, Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse and Utica.
Location
The Fashion Students Association’s office is on the fourth floor of the Campbell Student Union at Buffalo State College. The general interest meetings held by F.S.A is located in the game room 105H in the Campbell Student Union as well. The general interest meetings take place every Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. during Bengal Pause.
General Interest Meetings
General interest meetings are weekly programs held by the Fashion Students Association, as well as other United Student Government organizations. General interest meetings are held every Tuesday and covers different topics from fashion to current news by the fashion awareness chair of the executive board. The meeting starts with current events in pop-culture such as sports, entertainment and celebrity gossip. Then it’s followed by F.S.A’s very own segment “Like it or Leave it!” This segment involves a slideshow of different celebrities and their outfits at recent award shows, premieres, galas, etc. The members then have to decide whether they like or dislike the outfit and share their opinions. After that segment, the next segment can vary between a slideshow of campus styles or street styles followed by opinions from the members. Then there is a discussion on the topic of the week. For example, gender roles in a workplace, police brutality, the influences of the media, etc. Lastly, each general interest meeting is ended with upcoming programs or events the club has to keep members alert about future programming.
Signature Events
The Fashion Students Association has a week of programs every semester that showcases the organization’s signature events. F.S.A holds a fashion show each semester for the student body, community of buffalo and local fashion fans. The fashion shows varies in themes. Previous themes have been carnival, jungle, black tie affair, world fashion and so on. The executive board of the Fashion Students Association creates and develops the fashion shows. The show is student driven consisting of student designers, models, hair stylists, make-up artists, volunteers and host. The fashion shows are usually free of charge for Buffalo State students. The fashion shows have been held both on campus and off campus at different venues in Buffalo such as the Pierce Arrow Building in 2013 and Hotel Lafayette in 2012. The shows have caught the attention of some local media stations in Buffalo such as Buffalo News. The Avenue Code has filmed the organization in a short behind the scenes documentary for their fall 2013 show.
"Pink Tea Party" is an event hosted by the Fashion Students Association every October since 2013 to bring awareness to the student body about breast cancer. There is a campaign, where people on campus and in the community of Buffalo take a picture with a sign that reads “I support the Pink Tea Party,” and posts it to their social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with the event’s hastag to build awareness. The club also collaborates with other organizations, fraternities and sororities on campus for this event. Together they raise money by selling ribbons in honor of breast cancer awareness month. The "Pink Tea Party" includes an informative presentation from a health professional that also interacts with the audience, asking them questions about their knowledge of breast cancer. It is a formal event where guest are required to wear black and white and their pink breast cancer ribbons. The proceeds made from selling ribbons and donations from other organizations are given to a breast cancer foundation. In past times they have used the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The "Pink Tea Party" also allows guest to mix and mingle while eating finger foods, drinking tea and other light beverages.
"Mr. Smoove" is another one of the Fashion Students Association’s signature events. "Mr. Smoove" is a male pageant in search of the humorous and charming male on campus. There are usually five judges, one being the winner from the previous year. The pageant usually consists of five to eight contestants. The pageant has four different scenes starting with the introduction. The contestants each walk out to a song that best describes them and formally introduces themselves to the audience. Then there is the “personal style” scene. The contestants are asked to wear something that best represents their personality and explain why they chose that outfits. Following is the obstacle course scene; the objective of this scene is to bring out the comedic side of the contestants. Each contestant is given one minute to tie a tie, make a female laugh, do ten push-ups and lastly write and recite a poem. The last scene is called “GQ,” this scene requires the contestants to dress in formal attire and take part in a question and answer portion. After these scenes the judges determine a winner, who gains bragging rights as well as the title of "Mr. Smoove" for that academic school year.
Links
Buffalo State College FSA Events
