A student group is a great way to involve yourself in campus life without
having to resort to fraternities/sororities. They
provide opportunities to meet like-minded individuals in most walks of
life. They usually feature social events, debates, service projects, and
roundtable discussions
How to start your own. As the president of a reasonably-popular student group at my university, I can offer several suggestions to those who are thinking about starting an activist group of some sort on their college campus.
- Network. Is there already another group in existence that has
similar views? If so, it would be wise to integrate yourself into
that group before deciding that another organization is needed. For
example, if you wanted to start a campus group for atheists, then you should probably visit your campus's Objectivism
club or philosophy club. If you want to start a gamer's club, then
you should visit your computer club. This will help you to find
other people who are interested, because a campus group is nothing without a
bit of biomass.
- Talk up the idea. Okay, you've decided that your group is definitely
needed. Now you have to convince others of this. Talk to some of
the people you met while visiting these other clubs and find out if they
are interested. If even people who agree with you feel your student
group is unnecessary and foolish, perhaps you should take up underwater
basketweaving or co-ed naked ping pong. But if there seems to be a
demand of any sort, gather some phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and names.
You definitely want to find at least three other people--you'll probably be
required to have a President, a Vice President, a Treasurer and a
Secretary.
- Find a faculty advisor. This is going to be the tricky part.
You might be able to get help from similar-but-not-identical student groups
by talking to their faculty advisors.
- Visit your university's "Office of Student Affairs" or the
equivalent. All public universities are almost
guaranteed have one. Get information on the student group formation
process, because it varies from university to university.
- Have weekly meetings--on campus if possible, off-campus if not. My
university requires a faculty advisor's endorsement before any
classroom can be reserved. It might be possible to simply find an
unlocked classroom that isn't in use during the evenings. Pick a
building that everyone knows about, including clueless freshmen. I
also highly recommend a formal meeting followed by a trip to a
restaurant--this provides some structure without killing the social
aspect.
- Join national organizations. Want to promote freedom of
speech? Affiliate with the ACLU. Want to spread the love of
Jesus? There's always the Campus Crusade
for Christ.
- Try for Student Government funding. Get on your treasurer's
tail and tell him to submit a simple budget--Student Government LOVES to
spend your activity fees, you might as well get some of it to help pay for
that dunk tank. Don't go overboard though--they don't HAVE to fund
you.
- Promote the hell out of the club. Tabling is a common way of
doing this: visit your local department store, and purchase a card table
for $30. Make a sign. Get some pamphlets. Take your
sign, your pamphlets, your table, and a chair to a heavily-trafficked area
of the campus and spend the day handing out pamphlets. As your club
grows, you'll be able to push this off onto newer, more idealistic members,
which is good, because you have to remember to...
- Groom new members for officer positions. Remember that you'll only
be there for about four years, depending on your major and your grad
school plans. If you and your VP and your Secretary all
graduate in three months, that isn't a lot of time to prepare your
Treasurer for the role of President AND find three new people to step
in.
- Remember--your student group shouldn't be about you. It should be
about providing service to your fellow students--it is THEIR student
group, not yours. Listen to what those around you are asking for and
do what you can to make your club fun, and your group will survive for many
years.