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By: MELISSA SEYBOLDT
Staff Writer
For students in search of a club that meets their interests, IU South Bend has around 120 student clubs and organizations on campus. Though some are more active than others, there are plenty to experience.
Among the most recently registered student organizations are the Okinawa Martial Arts Club, League of Legends at IUSB, The Children of Dionysus, IUSB Social Work Student Association (SWSA), The Titan Toners, and the Pan African Student Union (PASU).
Some clubs are returning after being on hiatus for some time. The Okinawa Martial Arts Club was “defunct for a year but now [it’s] back up and going,” according to Scott Strittmatter, director of Student Life at IUSB.
Bradley Pontius is the presiding president of The Children of Dionysus. “We’re basically the new Actors Guild for IUSB,” he said. “The Player’s Guild fell apart about a year ago and we decided to pick up the pieces and roll with it.”
The club is “still planning events, but we have a couple we decided we’ll be doing. Movie nights and workshops with other professional actors, producers and directors – we also have trips to Chicago planned.”
The Social Work Student Association started in December as a new club. Members can “experience volunteer work, networking, events and field trips,” according to Patrice Davis, president of the club’s bachelor of social work area.
Recently proposed clubs are also in the works. A club based on the card game Magic: The Gathering may be registered in the next couple of weeks, according to Strittmatter. He also mentioned a student asking about forming a boxing club.
“It’s really easy to start a new club on campus,” Strittmatter said.
“All I ask is that you have a minimum of three members – a president, a treasurer, and generally speaking, a secretary. You have to have an adviser, […] somebody who’s employed by the university that will help be that resource for the student club on campus, be that voice; and to create a constitution, which talks about what the purpose of the club is and some of the rules.”
Strittmatter also pointed out the usefulness of MyInvolvement (myinvolvement.iusb.edu), a website that helps IUSB students keep track of their involvement on campus and to connect with clubs or organizations they’re interested in.
Among many features, students using the website can search clubs by entering the organization’s name, category, or status (i.e. registered/not registered), edit their involvement profile,
and find contact information for any given student organization.
Another advantage of the website is a button on each club’s webpage that says “I am interested.” Once clicked, the primary contact for that organization will get an e-mail with the interested student’s contact information, getting that student in touch with the head of the club.
Strittmatter stressed that students can’t use the site to its full potential unless they are logged in. The log-in button is in the upper right-hand corner of the website and is “easily missed by students.”
For more information on student clubs and organizations visit www.iusb.edu/studentlife or www.myinvolvement.iusb.edu.
Students wishing to start a club of their own can begin at www.iusb.edu/studentlife/resources/startclub.php.
