Whether they initiate a club for scuba diving enthusiasts or an organization lobbying for the legalization of marijuana, Duke students have developed a reputation for starting new clubs--so much so, in fact, that a new task force is considering whether to increase the requirements for new groups and consolidate the 300-plus undergraduate organizations that exist.
From how the leaders of some of Duke's newest groups describe the experience of starting their organizations, the process of obtaining a Duke Student Government charter may already be no easy matter.
Students said that starting their new clubs involves a lenghty process with several time-consuming stages, all outlined by the Student Organization Finance Committee, which oversees student-run organizations. Once they have an idea for a new organization, students are asked to find an adviser, write a constitution, file a charter request, recruit new members and eventually submit the idea to the DSG Legislature.
SOFC vice chair Pushpa Raja noted several steps that could improve a potential founder's chances of approval.
"If possible, find a knowledgeable faculty adviser who has worked a lot with student groups in the past, or get to know people in the Office of Student Activities, because they are wonderful resources," said Raja, a junior. "Also, thoroughly consider your mission: Are there other existing groups on campus already that deal with the same issues?"
Groups with membership open to the entire community should seek charters, while selective groups seek recognition, Raja added.
Generating the necessary interest or knowing who can help is not always easy, students said. Last spring, when sophomore Anderson Mayfield started Duke SCUBA-which seeks to unite students who share diving as a common interest and are interested in marine conservation-he initially had trouble raising support.
"People at Wilson [Recreation Center] believed that since scuba diving is not a competitive sport, they could do nothing for me," he said. "The people at Student Activities sent me back to Wilson, saying that it was not under their jurisdiction either and then, finally, I discovered that all I needed to do was contact DSG."
Some group leaders said the most important and difficult prerequisite to starting a club is a genuine interest in the club's focus. Georgia Richter, a junior and recent founder of the Duke chapter of the International Association for the Exchange of Students with Technical Experience, said her group seeks those interested in engineering students' difficulty in finding time to go abroad--a topic she said is rarely considered by students.
While Richter observed a general need in the engineering student body, sophomore Matthew Tolnick helped to charter Students for a Sensible Drug Policy because of a personal incident.
"My best friend from freshman year was arrested for simple marijuana possession and the arrest drove him to try to hurt himself," Tolnick said. "This piqued my interest in the war on drugs."
The final step in the group recognition process is attending one of DSG's weekly general body meetings, where legislators ask questions regarding the prospective clubs and vote to accept or reject their charters. Not everyone is approved on the first try.
"I made our goals and purposes known to DSG; however, they objected to SSDP upon first consideration," Tolnick said. "After defending the organization in a 15-minute question-and-answer session, it came to a vote and was nearly unanimously passed."
DSG legislator Raymond Stoney said there are no set criteria for charter approval, but there are ways to increase the chances of garnering approval.
"Representatives from these groups should come prepared to answer questions about their mission, contingency and how they intend to impact the existing Duke community," Stoney said.
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