StudentZona - Caring For A Better Student Life And Learning

In our previous post, we began talking about how to start your own student organization by looking at how to attract and retain members and how to come up with a mission statement to solidify your organization. Now that you know how to get started, we will look at how to establish your organization as credible in your university and in the surrounding community. Although there are many ways to do this, there are two main avenues that I urge you to explore when starting an organizations: faculty involvement and local-business endorsement.

Faculty Involvement is crucial to establishing your fledgling organization as credible. The reason for this is simple: university faculty is already established as an integral part of the educational community and having one or two faculty members involved in your organization extends that legitimacy to what you’re trying to accomplish with your group. How do you go about getting faculty involved? Really, it’s not too difficult. Just ask. If there is a professor that you take class with that you feel would be beneficial to your cause, schedule a time to meet with him or her and clearly lay out your organization’s purpose and goals. Invite him or her to a meeting to see what the dynamic of a group is. If the first faculty member you speak to is too busy to be involved, ask another. Chances are, you can find a professor that has some interest in your organization of you look.
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In this past week, we have been looking at the different types of student organizations, from nationally recognized to major-specific to interest-specific. What if, however, you have browsed the student organizations at your school and have yet to find one that you want to belong to? Or maybe you already belong to an organization, but feel like there needs to be another one to fill a particular void. The answer: start your own organization! Every student organization was started by people who felt the way you do and it is important to remember that an organization does not have to be well established to make an impact. Today, we will be looking at how to start your own organization and look at how to find people with similar interests, how to create a mission statement for your group, and how to establish a solid membership base.
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For the past week, we have been talking about the benefits of membership to student organizations. We have glossed over nationally recognized organizations and major-based organizations, and today we will be looking at student organizations that are based on interest. These organizations can take many forms, from religious in nature to based on a love of nature, and all are a great way for you to get involved with the student community at your college or university. While there are a myriad of organizations available, today we will look at some of the most popular types of interest-specific groups that exist on virtually every campus.

Humanitarian Groups: The thrust of these groups are–you guessed it–humanitarian efforts. This can take the form of Habitat for Humanity, in which groups of students work together to build housing for lower socio-economic members of their community, Anti-Racist Groups, Soup Kitchens, Women’s Shelters, Books for Prisoners, etc. Most of these student groups initiate contact with the national umbrella non-profit, but there are also groups that see a need in their community and create a group to fill that need (such as inner-city literacy programs).
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Student organizations are a great way to enhance your college experience. Through involvement in student organizations, you can meet people you might not otherwise, bolster your academic profile, and gain important leadership experience. We have spent the past few posts looking at the benefits of nationally recognized student organizations. Today, we will begin looking at student organizations through the university you attend whose membership is based on major.

Chances are your declared major has an undergraduate student organization. These organizations are usually run by students of the major with one or two faculty advisers. Unlike national organizations, these tend to be smaller and more specifically suited to their members’ interests and concerns. Because these organizations are based on major, they are a great way to foster relationships with people within your major and with faculty. While this might not seem all that important, these relationships are crucial upon graduation–both for professional growth and graduate school applications.
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As we move through our investigation of the benefits of membership to student organizations, it is important to remember that organizations come in all shapes and sizes. In the last post, we began looking at nationally recognized student organizations whose membership was based on academics. Today, we will wrap up our look at nationally recognized student organizations by giving a brief overview of the Greek System on college campuses: what it is, why it can be beneficial, and how to join.

The Greek System is most commonly known as sororities and fraternities, with sororities being limited to female membership and fraternities being limited to male membership. These organizations are known as the Greek System because they are identified by two or three letters of the Greek alphabet. Generally, sororities and fraternities have houses–or chapters–all over the country. There are sororities and fraternities for everyone: some base membership on major, some on family, some on whomever wants to join. Most people join the Greek System their freshman year, although some wait until their sophomore year.
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