A practical guide to achieving the college cliche through club
By: Mira Costello
Editor-in-Chief
If you’ve been a college student for longer than a day, you’re already tired of being told to “get involved.” You’ve heard it so many times it’s nearly become meaningless, leaving you without an idea of how to really attain that mysterious “involvement”. With 152 organizations listed on Titan Atlas, how are you supposed to make heads or tails of it all?
That’s where The Preface has your back. Read on for what to do if you’re ready to enter the fold of IU South Bend’s campus culture.
How do I join a club? What club can I join?
Peruse the Post-It notes to check out the dozens of clubs that are active this year. To keep things simple, try starting with your field of study, then branching out into affinity groups and interest-based clubs. Maybe you’re studying biology on a pre-med track – in that case, Biology and Chemistry Club might be a good fit. If you’re studying business, the ACMC or the Accounting Association might appeal to you.
Titan Atlas (titanatlas.iusb.edu) is a key resource for joining clubs; there, organizations can post their upcoming events, meeting times, announcements and member rosters. To make your membership official, you can send a request to a club through their Titan Atlas page. This way, you can maintain a record of your involvement (and use it for resumes later!).
Keep an eye out for The Preface’s monthly printed calendar of events as well as our Instagram stories (@iusbpreface) where we repost and boost all the club meetings and events we can find.
How do I get my club off to a good start?
The formal title for student clubs at IU South Bend is “Self-Governed Student Organization”, or SGSO. Here are a few steps to lay the foundation for your SGSO.
- Make sure your club idea is unique. Familiarize yourself with active clubs to ensure that a similar club doesn’t already exist; if so, you might be able to bring your ideas to them as a member.
- Find and meet with other interested students. Each club needs a president and a treasurer, which means you need a minimum of one other student who shares your vision. There will likely be many more than that!
- Find a faculty or staff adviser. This might be someone you know, or you might reach outside your circle to find an adviser that is a good fit for the club because of their role on campus or their subject background.
- Make your club official by registering on Titan Atlas and uploading your club’s constitution.
- Attend a club officer training. Hosted by the Office of Student Life, there is a club officer training coming up: Sept. 13 at 5:30 p.m. in the Grill. The Office of Student Life will host more trainings throughout the semester. If two or more of your club’s officers attend training (on the same day or separately), your club can receive some starting funds from the Student Government Association.
- Create a budget and a bank account, then consider requesting funds from the Student Government Association. While the Bursar’s Office no longer exists at IU South Bend, clubs can create an account at 1st Source Bank. The SGA uses part of its budget each year to fund club events, trips and operating costs. You can submit a funding request on Titan Atlas.
