Anyone who knows me knows one of the hardest things for me to do is say “no” to literally anything. I endure so many things I (secretly) do not want to do because I just could not say “no” to them. This slight personality flaw did wonders for me on Quad Day.

I won’t lie to you. I only spent about 20 minutes at Quad Day my freshman year, but those 20 minutes had me signing up for things I knew I shouldn’t join or deep down knew I did not want to join.

Quad Day had me putting my email down on lists for Registered Student Organizations that piqued my interest at one point in time or another but did not really pique my interests anymore. I would justify it by thinking to myself, “Well, maybe I’ll get back into this.” But this was not the truth. I just felt bad saying “no” and walking away without said RSO having my email down on their list.

I’m not here to give you advice on how to just say “no” and avoid this whole situation in general because honestly, I would not know how to give that advice. Frankly, I need it myself. However, I am here to tell you if you are anything like me and cannot say “no” even if your life depended on it, there is another option: The unsubscribe button.

If you just could not say “no” to the peppy groups standing behind their RSOs’ table or even if you genuinely thought you would be interested in something but later find out you really are not, you are not committed to that RSO just because you joined an email list.

Sometimes you can find an unsubscribe button at the bottom of an email, but if there is not one, you can simply just ask nicely to be taken off the email list. I promise, no one will be mad at you.

My freshman year, I got emails for the entire year from two to three different RSOs I did not end up joining because I felt bad just walking by the table on Quad Day and did not think about the unsubscribing aspect.

Honestly, I think this is most definitely a better way of going about Quad Day rather than just being picky about what to put your name down on because you do have that chance of unwillingly signing up for something that you might actually come to enjoy. The RSO you join could become your community and your home away from home for the next four years.

And honestly, there is no right or wrong way to go about Quad Day. But, I think it’s better to regret signing up for too much than to regret not signing up for enough. There’s always the “unsubscribe” button.

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