UCC offers many college classes able to benefit people with diverse interests. But sometimes connecting with other students who have the same passions on campus is tricky. One solution to this is to start a club.The first step in starting a club is completing the petition form from ASUCC which requires collection of 30 signatures from students on campus. These 30 have to be enrolled with three credits or more. The form will require naming a student to serve as the club representative. Next, a club adviser must be acquired. The adviser will review and sign the club petition as well as the club adviser agreement. A club adviser encourages the club and the students to staying established in college. The adviser must agree to the following: “As a club adviser, you are agreeing to undertake a valuable responsibility in promoting the role student clubs can play in developing student skills and confidence.” The club petition and adviser agreement can be located and downloaded off of the UCC website under clubs and organization link.
Once all the signatures and an adviser is set in place, the next task is to develop a constitution for the club. “The Constitution of an organization contains the fundamental principles which govern its operation and establishes the specific rules of guidance by which the group is to function,” the club’s constitution layout explains. The purpose of a constitution is to keep the club running smoothly for years. The constitution should also include bylaws. “Bylaws provide detailed procedures groups must follow to conduct business in an orderly manner.” Completing this will prepare you to send your application to the ASUCC Leadership Boarding Activity Officers. Guidelines on how to create a club constitution and bylaws can be downloaded under the UCC website under the clubs and organization link.
The ASUCC Leadership Board has meetings every Thursday at 1 p.m. in the Student Center Bistro located in the back left of the cafeteria. Attending these meetings is a must to have the board review the club for consideration of adoption in winter term. Once the club is approved, it is required to meet with Marjan Coester, director of student engagement, for club orientation.
Coester tells that the benefits of a student club are threefold: “Opportunity for students to connect with other students, students are able to build leadership and problem solving skills that look good to future employers and all students are more successful when they are engaged within their school.” •