Interested in starting up your own club? The process might be easier than you think.
“I’ve had students do it in a day,” said Ann Fryslie, director of Student and Alumni Activities. There are over 20 clubs currently offered at City College, all of which were started by students.
“Every single one, they are all student driven, it’s all through interest of students,” Fryslie said.
Starting a new club on campus begins with making sure the club isn’t already in existence. Several campus clubs are listed as inactive.
“If it’s an inactive club, all they have to do is reactivate it,” she said.
Step two in the process is finding an advisor. The advisor must be a full-time faculty member, or someone who holds a management position at City College. Advisors serve the purpose of offering knowledge and providing guidance to the club. Assistance is readily available to those who seek new club advisors.
“I’ll have someone who will have a really good idea for a club but they know very few faculty people,” Fryslie said. “I can send an e-mail out to all the faculty asking if there’s any interest from them to do that”
The next step is to develop a constitution ouline fomr online. This declares the club’s name, its purpose and general rules.
Next, at least 15 students need to be recruited into the club and a basic roster form must be drafted that includes members’ contact information and signatures.
When the club roster and the Constitution have been completed, take them to the Student/Alumni Activities Office. The Student Senate will then review the information.
“If it’s a brand new club, the student senate gives them a hundred dollars to start,” Fryslie said. “They have an account balance that’s handled through our accounting department. They can use that money for supplies or to help put on events, anything that’s club related.”
Once a club has been approved, the Student Activities secretary must be informed about where the meetings will be held. The secretary must confirm the usage of campus classrooms for club purposes.
“Usually the clubs meet once a week; an hour a week is probably all that it takes,” she said. “There are some clubs who are very active and the time commitment is much greater…it’s all up to [students], they determine it.”
When a club has been established, promotion is the ideal way to get the campus involved. Banners are a great way to spread the word about a new club’s creation. Tables are also available for check-out.
Though students are given the freedom to create unique clubs open to all interests, campus policies and education codes still apply.
“There are a few little stipulations, there can’t be anything that prevents someone from joining the club,” Fryslie said. “Any person who is a student, even if they’re only in a one unit class, should be able to join the club if they want to.”
Becoming a club pioneer has a vast amount of benefits that can help your experiences at City College.
“There are a number of studies out that show that students who have some other involvement in school, other than purely academics, are more successful in their academic area,” she said. “Whether it’s just learning how to run a meeting, or how to organize and put on a successful event, it’s all valuable experience for the future.”
Starting a club is open to everybody, even shy students have had fun.
“Some of the students who start clubs are really shy, but they have such an interest in whatever the club is going to focus on that they work real hard at doing it and get it taken care of,” Fryslie said.
The Student/Alumni Activities Office is open in the Campus Center Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.