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Take initiative, start a student organization
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This Monday marks the beginning of another semester at Boise State University. As students dash around campus buying books, finding classrooms and figuring out how to fit much-needed coffee breaks into their busy schedules, they may forget that college is fun too.
Luckily, Boise State provides an active campus community to fill that fun void with more than 200 student-run organizations. But if students can’t find a preexisting organization to serve their interests, they can start their own.
Starting an organization on campus is a clear and efficient process. According to Evangeline Beaver, Student Organization administrative assistant, students can look up “The Source,” an online manual located at clubs.boisestate.edu, to learn how to kick-start their own organization.
There are five sources that contain different sets of policies and information every student organization needs to know. Source One outlines the initial steps of starting a student organization and its recognition.
First, a representative from a potential organization must meet with a staff member from the Student Organizations Office in the Student Union Building. Beaver also suggests contacting Kara Fink, program coordinator of Student Activities and Student Organization. At this meeting, the student fills out an “Intent to Organize” card, which includes the names of the organization’s members and its title.
The potential organization then receives what Beaver called a “temporary status.” During this two-month period, the group elects its officers and writes a constitution, Beaver said.
The constitution plays a central role in each student-run organization. According to Fink, it exists “mainly so club members know what to do within the club.”
Specifically, it defines the officers and their responsibilities, the group’s election process and other guidelines specific to the organization.
Though each organization has a slightly different constitution to serve their needs, all require several mandatory articles. Source One says each constitution must include: the organization’s title, a statement of purpose, the organization’s affiliation with Boise State, a nondiscrimination statement, membership details, meeting information, identification of officers and a faculty advisor, a section on removal of officers and members, sources of financial support and an article on constitutional revision. A sample online constitution at clubs.boisestate.edu demonstrates how to format these mandatory articles.
In terms of finding a faculty advisor, Beaver said students usually ask a faculty member they know to advise the club themselves. However, Source One says the Student Organizations Office can also help with this process, if needed.
At the end of its two-month temporary status, the organization must turn in its completed constitution (in the form of one electronic copy and two additional paper copies) and “Organization Officer Card” to the Student Organizations Office. The Associated Students of BSU Judiciary then reads the constitution and considers the organization’s official recognition.
“They [ASBSU Judiciary] just review it to make sure it follows the sample constitution,” Fink said.
Though most constitutions are approved, Fink said the Judiciary can “send back” a constitution that does not contain all the mandatory articles and does not correspond with the online sample constitution to the organization for revision.
Once recognized by the Judiciary, the organization can take its place within the campus community. Beaver said it will also receive the benefits that other student clubs have such as free room reservations in the SUB.
For more information on Boise State’s student organizations, contact the Student Organizations Office at 426-5951. To access “The Source” and sample constitution, visit clubs.boisestate.edu.
Francy Marcotte
