Re: [Organizers] University contra clubs

Hello all- While I do not currently work with a student organization at a university, my profession is working with student orgs at universities. Every school really is different in their bylaws and what is and is not ok. I've seen a lot of different things to be successful. At one school in the south, the christian based organizations partnered with the swing club and had a large swing dance which included a lesson. They did this 4x per year and got a few hundred people each time (between local swing dancers, students who were in the swing club, and then christian students looking to learn or try something new). I think it is U of Chicago (or maybe it is UIC) that has a beautiful dance hall, they use a student club to 'rent' the hall for occasional contra & english dances. Most schools will require that your club have a faculty or staff advisor- typically this person just signs paperwork. They may or may not be an active member in the organization. Have your students go to their favorite professor to ask them if they want to sign on. As for what does the club do? It's really up to you- they can co-sponsor a dance on the college campus, or just be an 'enthusiast' group (like ski club) that meets every so often but the real purpose is to help coordinate rides to the local dance. It all really depends on the momentum and what resources the campus offers. Some campuses will allow you to apply for funds (think the same as a federal or state government- so, this is a once a year type process most often - requires pre-planning, not a last moment thing). Most schools will require your club to have a constitution- they should have a template for you to follow. The club will also need X officers and Y members to be a 'real' club. The school should have some sort of administrator (person in my type of job) who can help guide you with this stuff. If you message me (off the list) the name of the university, I could do some looking around to see if I know the person or can find their name on a website for you. Feel free to contact me off-list if you need more help & good luck! Sometimes the 'college club' is a great thing & sometimes it is... not really worth all of the effort. Usually it all rides on how much effort (& time) the individual student is willing to put into the project- with balancing it with their classes, part time job, sweeties...etc. Brian On Mon, Jun 20, 2016 at 11:42 PM Mary Anne Eason via Organizers < organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net&gt; wrote: