First, the ingredients: five students, one faculty adviser, one completed application form and one written constitution (caution: may contain unfamiliar terms). Combine and stir. Add dash of diversity for best results. Let sit in the Center for Student Leadership and Involvement. When notified, remove and sample.
The University boasts more than 300 registered student organizations, ranging from service groups such as Ambassadors to political action clubs such as newly created YouthElect.
Forming an organization is easier than one might think. Only four basic ingredients are needed.
Each organization must have a minimum of five enrolled full-time students. While some of the largest organizations have more than 300 members — such as Black Graduate and Professional Student Organization and Christ the King — many of the student organizations operate with 10-20 members, said Michelle Lowery, CSLI coordinator.
The prospective organization members also must complete CSLI’s application and write a constitution. A faculty adviser then must sign the application.
At this point, CSLI grants an organization “provisionary status.” To be fully registered, a member of the organization must attend an orientation meeting that takes place at the beginning of each semester.
In order to retain full-time status each year, an organization member only needs to attend an orientation meeting at the start of fall semester.
Lowery said the process of becoming an organization is more condensed than it used to be.
“The application is simple; we just ask you why you want an organization,” she said. “What purpose does this organization fill that’s not already here?”
The constitution can be lengthy, but CSLI offers templates for organizations to use.
Rhett Morris, YouthElect executive director, said writing the constitution is not as hard as people imagine.
“Most constitutions aren’t that different,” Morris said. “The only thing that may change is the mission statement.”
Lowery said groups wanting to form an organization usually fall into two types.
The first type may decide existing organizations are not doing enough and start own organization with a different purpose, Lowery said.
YouthElect is one such example. Although several political action organizations serve campus, YouthElect focuses on youth involvement rather than partisan issues.
The second type of person simply identifies a group that does not exist and then forms it, Lowery said.
Angie Pellegrin, the Improvisers president, said her organization had been meeting informally to practice and rehearse but soon realized the benefits of becoming a student organization.
“They had a packet with specific guidelines to follow,” Pellegrin said. “It made the whole process simple.”
Student organizations enjoy many benefits, Lowery said. Organizations can use Union facilities, get chairs and tables from Facility Services and sponsor speakers. CSLI also offers funding through its Organization Relief Fund.
The center sponsors one student organization fair each semester. The spring organization fair is Wednesday, Feb. 5.
Downsides exist despite the improvements. One of those downsides, Morris said, is the paperwork associated with event registration and planning. Although most of the restrictions are safety-related, Morris said the system can be very bureaucratic.
But he says, “The benefits far outweigh the negatives. We have people whose whole job is to help us out.”