Published: February 26, 2009

In the beginning of this semester, I tried to start a philosophy club. I thought it would be an easy process, one that encourages people to start new clubs rather than discourage them. I was wrong. Through my recent experience, I have found there is enough ‘red tape’ to deter most from ever thinking about starting a club. However, by reforming the process through a few simple steps, I think the university would benefit greatly.

Currently, the first step is to fill out a “New Club Meeting Request Form” in the Office of Student Life & Community Development and submit it to the operations committee for review. Then, one receives a meeting with a USG representative who then explains the steps required to form the club. It seems fairly easy, but there are several problems.

The operations committee only meets once a week and sends responses through the Fordham e-mail system. The e-mails they sent to me were lost twice in system crashes, delaying the process by approximately three weeks—a full quarter of the semester. Eliminating the need to review a club in committee would streamline the process, especially since USG will vote two more times on the club before it is approved. Making all of the paperwork available from the start would also help, as would avoiding using the notoriously faulty Fordham e-mail system.

The next step after the meeting with the representative involves filling out a “Faculty Advisor Consent Form” and a “Club Officer Listing,” both of which are quite arbitrary. As most know, faculty advisors do not participate in any way in club activity, though they agree to “take an active role in making [your] organization a positive contribution to the Fordham University community.” This requirement needs to be removed, as does the second form asking for the names of the executive committee members of your organization, when, in fact, you do not have any members yet.

I do agree that an organization should collect a certain number of student signatures before being recognized as legitimate. However, the USG policy only allows clubs already approved to advertise in the hallways. Anyone who wishes to collect signatures is forced to collect them from his friends, regardless of whether or not they are interested in even joining the club. This restriction should be lifted. What better way to collect signatures and gauge interest than to advertise on campus?

Once one collects the 10 signatures and writes a club constitution outlining the goals and procedures of the club, the organization has to go through a lengthy process requiring approval from the USG committee. This takes two votes and over one semester before the organization can receive legitimate funding. That delay only encourages motivated and creative students to abandon their goal. To deprive a new club of funding for a whole semester, while USG determines if it serves the community, only forces the students to spend their own incomes to support the organization.

While CAB spends thousands of dollars per semester on events with low attendance and the Observer is full of articles decrying the lack of community at Fordham, one possible answer to our problem should be obvious. Let students form clubs in a streamlined fashion, using the suggestions stated above—that will be a positive contribution to the Fordham community.