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How to start your own student group at KU // ANDREA OLSEN
Photo by Alex Bonham-Carter
Classic film for the Classics Club: Students watch 'Jason and the Argonauts,' a 1963 film depicting ancient Greek myth, during a presentation put on by the KU Classics Club earlier this month. The Classics Club was founded this semester and is just one of more than 480 registered student organizations on campus.
When students at the University go through orientation, they hear about the hundreds of clubs on campus to be involved in. But what if those 480 student groups don't satisfy your needs?
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Vans Copple, Salt Lake City senior, saw a need for a classics club on campus. After speaking with professors and students in the classics department, she found an interest in starting a student group devoted to the works of ancient Greece and Rome. A similar club had existed five years ago, but had since disbanded. Coppe decide to get the group going again and this past spring she sent out e-mails to those interested in joining.
The first step in the process is registering your student group through the Student Involvement and Leadership Center. Starting a student group is a simple task — you just have to be organized. All a student group needs to register is three officers, all of whom must be current KU students, and a faculty adviser. Once you get past that step, you can go online to register your group.
The registration form can be found on the SILC website under the "Get Involved" tab. List your organization's name, as well as contact information for each officer and the adviser.
After filling out the form online, Aaron Quisenberry, associate director of SILC, reviews your form. All applicants are approved, providing they complete all the steps. In order to finalize the registration, all officers and the adviser must click the confirmation link in an automated e-mail from SILC. Without all the confirmation e-mails, the student group registration is incomplete.
Once your student group gets approved, you have access to a variety of perks. You can reserve rooms on campus for your group to meet, be listed on the KU website, and have your events posted on the KU events calendar. But most importantly you have access to funding from Student Senate, as long as you follow the necessary steps.
Each student group at the University is eligible to receive $200 per school year, which comes out of the $15,50 Student Senate activity fee paid by every student. Alex Earles, Salina junior and Student Executive Committee chairman, says this money is often spent on paper and copying costs for student groups.
Any additional funding needs to be approved through a two-week legislative process. The group writes a bill and presents it to two standing committees of Senate. Then they must get approval from the full Senate. Earles says these bills usually pass easily as long as they follow the guidelines. The money has to be spent in a
way that benefits the campus community, and it cannot be used on T-shirts, food or grants for group members. Additional funding from Senate is usually limited to $1,000, and student groups must look to other sources for anything beyond that.
The Engineering Student Council uses extra funding from Senate for their annual Engineering EXPO. Abby Rimel, Aurora, Colo., junior, and vice president of the ESC, says the EXPO is one of the biggest events of the year. It is a conference to recruit high-school and junior-high students, allowing them to see the different programs at the school of engineering.
Copple and other members of the Classics Club wrote a bill at the beginning of the school year requesting additional funding to host a movie event. They used the money to pay the copyright fees to show A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum in October, and Jason and the Argonauts earlier this month.
The process of starting a group seems a lot harder than it actually is. Copple says, All you have to do is have an idea, a few members, and follow directions.
Looking to get involved? Here are some offbeat groups on campus that may spark your interest.
STITCH TACTICS: Think you have what it takes to be the next star of Saturday Night Live? Polish your skills with this campus group dedicated to improvisational acting.
ZOMBIE AWARENESS COUNCIL: Afraid of an impending zombie attack on Lawrence? Help devise a survival plan and promote zombie awareness by joining this group.
PRISON BALL CLUB: Those not afraid of full-contact sports might take interest in this game, which is a more intense version of dodge ball. Play at your own risk.
JUGGLING CLUB: This student group helps teach beginners juggling and new tricks for those who are already practiced in the skill. Group members regularly meet on campus (depending on the weather) to juggle together.
Contact information for all student organizations is located on the SILC website, www.silc.ku.edu.
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