A Gathering of Leaders
When it comes to starting, running, and maintaining a club at LBCC, there is more to it than just gathering together and hanging out with friends. This may be one of the many benefits of being part of a club, but there is still work involved.
Starting a club requires eight students, including the one starting the club. They sign a form which requires the student’s name, student number, and an active email. Each club requires a faculty advisor as well. This is the requirement that can sometimes make it difficult when starting. LB faculty are very busy people, and being a club advisor is voluntary, so they may not have time to invest, and being a club advisor can be extremely time consuming.
“It is important for clubs to have interested faculty because it enhances the student experience. Being advisor to the Commuter is one of my favorite parts of my job,” said Faculty Advisor and Instructor Rob Priewe.
“To be a good advisor, faculty and staff need to be sure they can commit the time needed. That is why it may be difficult for some faculty. They want to make sure they can do a good job.”
If you continually get denied in your search for a faculty advisor due to time constraints, you can obtain a volunteer advisor to help. The volunteer advisor is someone who isn’t a student and is brought on by the club, after the individual is cleared by Human Resources and Public Safety. Doing this reduces the time requirement of the faculty advisor and can make the process of acquiring one easier.
One of the things requested of the club president, or representative, is to attend bi-weekly meetings, currently labeled as, “The Council of Clubs.” While it sounds like something out of a fantasy show or medieval times, the council’s job is to work together to assist other clubs in staying active. Another important aspect of the meetings is to inform LBCC with what the clubs are doing, and what they may expect in the future.
“We give them opportunities to run fundraisers and earn club money for any special events, and material needed,” said Courtney Miller, the LBCC Clubs and Engagement Director.
Miller is proactive in her role as she usually has an agenda created and sent out to each club two days prior to the meeting, which allows time for the club representatives to add discussion points or new items to the agenda.
“I do oversee the meetings. As a student leader, I have to be the one to officially start and end each meeting. I maintain the meetings with discussions and voting. I also have to have a student leader to be my ‘minutes taker,’ they keep proper notes of each meeting, in case anything was missed,” said Miller.
Any club representative is welcome to attend the meetings. If you want to have a counting vote at the council of clubs meeting, you need to be in attendance.
If you are looking to start or revive a club, and not just join, the process is relatively streamlined. One can obtain a club charter petition from Heather Morijah, the program assistant for Student Life and Leadership, in the Diversity Achievement Center.
For more information on joining or creating clubs contact:
Heather Morijah, program assistant for Student Life and Leadership, morijah@linnbenton.edu
