Whether you’re a car enthusiast looking for fellow car lovers, an experienced mechanic, or completely new to the world of cars and are hoping to learn from others, AcceleraSHUn is the place to go.
AcceleraSHUn is Seton Hall's car club. Liam Park, junior finance major and member of the executive board, said that their mission is simply to bring people with this interest together.
"It's one of the greatest ways to make lifelong friends,” Park said.
The club accepts members at any skill or interest level, ranging from experienced car collectors to newer mechanics.
Arik Policarpio, a sophomore exercise science major, “attribute[s] much of [his] experiences with cars to [his] dad, growing up in the Philippines, where driving manually was common. Policarpio watched his dad work on cars when his family immigrated to the U.S., which made him fall in love with them.
E-board member Eddie Sleeper, a senior marketing major, similarly fell in love with cars at a young age, first watching “Cars” in theaters when he was a kid.
“That movie didn’t just make me love cars, it made me see them as more than machines, as stories, personalities, and pieces of art in motion,” Sleeper said.
AcceleraSHUn hosts monthly meets, where members can show off their cars and talk with other like-minded people regarding maintenance and specs.
For special occasions, such as Halloween, they host themed events, such as the Trunk or Treat event that was held on Oct. 30. The event functioned as a way for the club to show off antique car models, using the trunks of a 1968 Volkswagen Beetle, a 1999 Subaru Sambar Kei Truck, and a 1995 Mazda Miata, all while preserving the spirit and fun of Halloween.
These types of events have created fond memories for the members of the club. Park noted that his favorite event so far was the Cars and Coffee event that was held in September.
“We had an incredible show-out and got our good ol' Duck Donuts for the members, had great conversation, [and] met a ton of great folks,” Park said.
AcceleraSHUn cares deeply about maintaining a safe space for their members and encouraging community.
“We highly condemn ‘takeover’ activity,” Policarpio says, “which includes behavior such as burnouts, excessive revving, and endangering the lives and well-being of others.”
The club aims to subvert the typical connotations of car culture by building a club that fosters mutual respect and appreciation. To this end, AcceleraSHUn frequently collaborates with other car clubs, charities, and local businesses. The members also meet up off-campus to go to car shows and meets hosted by other car clubs.
Looking toward the future, the club’s future goals involve expanding its influence and increasing its membership.
Park said “[the club] want[s] to bring more into the car enthusiast scene who hadn't been prior, so whatever we can do to make that experience as enjoyable as we can, we aim to do exactly that.”
Hasini Gokavarapu is a writer for The Setonian’s Features section. He can be reached at hasini.gokavarapu@student.shu.edu.
