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<\/a>Reed said the best way to maintain a club after its creation is to continue recruiting members, which is why club fairs are hosted several times a year.<\/p>\n
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\u201cOne of the biggest things I see, is when unique clubs start, they have what we call their \u2018founding fathers,\u2019 or their founding students graduate and don\u2019t recruit. The next thing you know, the club kind of fades away,\u201d Reed said. \u201cA good example of this is a black fraternity we had. They were all upperclassmen and they graduated and then it just died, which was sad to see. It was called Phi Beta Sigma.\u201d<\/p>\n
Julie Schaefer and Madeline Sundheim, co-presidents of the Student Council for Exceptional Children, a student club that advocates for children with disabilities, have been working to prevent this from happening to their club.<\/p>\n
In addition to attending the club fairs hosted during the year, Sundheim said the club stops by special education classes to get the word out about their club and recruit students.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also stop by the teacher induction ceremonies and speak about our club,\u201d Sundheim said.<\/p>\n
The club provides officers with binders including old events and contact information so new officers will have an idea about what it takes to set up a club event.<\/p>\n
Despite different recruiting methods, Schaefer and Sundheim discovered how the nature of their club has prevented potential members from committing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen people hear what we do, the whole disability part of it turns people away,\u201d Schaefer said. \u201cI have heard people say that they don\u2019t know how to go and work with people who have disabilities, but we go over that in the club and for a lot of our events we have club training which covers the basics, like \u2018if this happens, this is what you do.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Since the club works with children who have disabilities, most members are special education majors. Sundheim said the group has a difficult time recruiting different majors, because people assume it is a club for only special education majors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they hear that we work with people who have disabilities, they automatically assume that it is for special education majors, but it is open to all majors,\u201d Sundheim said. \u00a0\u201cWe have a business major in the club right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
While working with fellow members, clubs and organizations are overseen by the ASO. As director, Grochowski serves as a liaison between ASO and Student Senate, and said she applied for the position after the previous director resigned.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first I was hesitant to apply, but I also saw how much leadership ASO lacked. I really wanted to do something to step up and enforce the rules and all the policies clubs need to follow,\u201d Grochowski said.<\/p>\n
Grochowski and her judicial committee makes sure clubs follow policies to become a club and maintain active status. She explained the ASO reviews the entire directory, clicking on every club listed to see when constitutions and rosters were last updated. Grochowski said if clubs do not comply, she emails the advisor and student leader as many as five times to ensure they are inactive before terminating the club.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have faced some backlash with this process, but it goes to show that people need to be a little more responsible with clubs, and it comes with some repercussions,\u201d Grochowski said.<\/p>\n
All clubs at Winona State are able to request funding each year based on the age of the club. A club in its first year of operation can receive up to $500, its second year up to $1,000 and up to $1,500 in its third year.<\/p>\n
Grochowski said this money system leads to tough decisions and ultimately angry club members.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re deleted from the directory, you go back down to $500. If you were actually an active club and were deleted, you\u2019d have to reapply and be considered a new club,\u201d Grochowski said. \u201cClubs need to follow these rules and to show we are enforcing them now and mean business, we had to make those tough decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Three mandatory ASO meetings are held per semester to convey important club information and updates. Grochowski said these gatherings can be tedious for ASO and clubs, especially when there is not a lot of information to convey and can be done via email.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s frustrating for me and an inconvenience for the students if the meeting\u2019s only five to 10 minutes long. But they\u2019re mandatory so I have to put them on,\u201d Grochowski said.<\/p>\n
Student Senate Treasurer Duc Nguyen holds treasurer workshops during ASO meetings every semester. He said at these workshops he outlines a guide he created that explains what happens from when a club decides it needs money, to when that money is processed. Nguyen said he receives around 10 emails a week from students asking questions he already covered in the treasurer workshop.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if they weren\u2019t paying attention and I don\u2019t blame them \u2013 my workshops aren\u2019t exactly all that exciting, but a lot of them are asking the most basic question: we only need this amount, but where do we go for it?,\u201d Nguyen said.<\/p>\n
Amy Scherer is the new treasurer for Winona State women\u2019s rugby, recognized as a sports club. She said the treasurer workshops she has attended have been especially informative on the club reimbursement process.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like that [the ASO] reaches out to club presidents and treasurers and inform them on how their processes work,\u201d Scherer said. \u201cTo me, this shows that they appreciate their clubs and want them to continue doing what they\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Grochowski, if a representative from a club does not show up to an ASO meeting that club is put on temporary suspension until they meet with her. This suspension includes a freeze on Student Activity Fund (SAF) allocations to that organization.<\/p>\n
Grochowski said, \u201cWe did have one club that did not attend one of the meetings and they had requested funding for a big trip, and they couldn\u2019t get the funding right away because of that. It gets people to follow the rules.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nguyen also explained the importance of clubs completing a required Semester Financial Review (SFR). This completed form documents money given to a club by either the Student Activity Fund Committee (SAFC) or Student Senate. He said failure to submit this form at the end of a semester will also result in the freezing of a club\u2019s funds and potentially deletion from the directory.<\/p>\n
The SAFC is responsible for distributing money to clubs who have submitted online funding request forms. The small committee is made up of about five student senators, including Nguyen as chair. He said the committee reviews and votes on requests for less than $1,500 and are subject to SAF rules written by Senate, while Senate\u2019s money is bound by Minnesota State laws.<\/p>\n
Nguyen said, \u201cThe rules are really picky, so there\u2019s not much leniency. Clubs come to my committee, SAFC, only when they need something small and what everyone gets, such as needing money for T-shirts or things within Winona boundaries.\u201d<\/p>\n
SAFC receives around 20 funding requests a week, according to Nguyen. After review, five or 10 of these are funded. While money is available to clubs through the SAFC, he said it is more of a cap rather than an entitled amount, and Senate prefers clubs do not reach the allowed amount.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we went into this school year we had around 200 clubs and $154,000 total between SAFC and Senate. The math doesn\u2019t add up,\u201d Nguyen said. \u201cIf every club got whatever they\u2019re capped at, we\u2019d be over the limit so many times.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to ASO, the Sports Club Council oversees sports clubs on campus. It provides a similar list of club requirements, adding the completion of designated community service days and fundraising events, as well as a yearly base monetary allocation. Its tier system dictates requirements for teams, categorizing them as either Virtual Varsity, Competitive I and Competitive II.<\/p>\n
Scherer said women\u2019s rugby, since they have 20+ players and a national title, receive $6,000 yearly as a Virtual Varsity team.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince we are a traveling sports club, we take advantage of this eligibility and often use all of it,\u201d Scherer said. \u201cWe use it for reimbursement on gas, sports equipment, motels and bus rentals.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether it is a sports club or the Student Council for Exceptional Children, every club is required to follow procedures. Grochowski said moving forward, the ASO needs to be more strict with these rules and clubs need to follow them closer in order to maintain active status.<\/p>\n Club longevity involves more than following rules and guidelines. Motivated leaders and cooperative members provide knowledge and opportunities to keep a club running for years.<\/p>\n Rahim said, \u201cIt is really about how self-directed [clubs] are and if they give themselves the opportunity to create a presence on campus that is going to maintain their livelihood.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Allison Mueller and Elizabeth Pulanco Eager students, colorful posters and free treats are at the forefront of every Winona State University club fair. These attractions, along with inviting games and cute animals, often lure students to tables — a tactic clubs use every year. At a club fair, group members are present and strive … Continue reading Survival of the fittest: WSU students uphold clubs<\/span> <\/a>