Samuel Boudreau
Senior News Writer
As the spring semester begins, student organizations are up and running with virtual Scot Spirit Day that took place last Sunday. The Lowry Center and Student Activities (LCSA) emailed student organizations a Sway newsletter on Jan. 26. The newsletter provides student organizations with essential deadlines, preparation tips for events along with meetings and spotlight opportunities for clubs on LCSA social media pages. LCSA notes important deadlines and dates for student organizations as follows:
- Friday, Feb. 5 at noon: Spring 2021 rosters due
- Sunday, Feb. 14 at noon: 2021-22 Executive Board List due
- Friday, March 26 at noon: 2021 Charter Renewals due
- Wednesday, March 31 at noon: 2021-2022 Budget Requests for Allocation due
- Saturday, April 10 at 1:00 p.m.: Scot Leads (21-22 Officer Leadership Training)
Regarding spring rosters, LCSA notes that “every chartered student organization is required to submit a roster each semester to LCSA.” The roster must consist of every active member in the organization along with their “name, Wooster email, cell numbers, position and when they joined the organization,” according to LCSA, as “roster submissions are required in order to be eligible to request funds from the student activities fee and more.” The Sway provides a link for this form.
The LCSA also recommends student organizations “start reviewing and updating [their charters] prior to the submission date.” Since December, the LCSA has shared helpful tips regarding charters. For January, the LCSA notifies students to “look at your officer removal section of your charter and constitution (if applicable).”
Student organization elections are also quickly approaching. Elections must be complete and names sent to the LCSA by Feb. 14 at noon. Saralee Renick ’22, president of Hillel, the College’s student-run Jewish group, claimed that “the due dates for the roster and officer elections are way too close to the beginning of the semester. Clubs have not fully settled in for the semester, and they’re expected to hold elections.” Renick also told the Voice that “the information on advice for running elections was sent maybe two weeks before the deadline for new officers. LCSA did not give student organizations enough preparation time this semester. Nor was this information advertised effectively.”
The student organization newsletter provides tips to plan for elections, such as reviewing the club constitution, setting dates for special election meetings and deciding how to create virtual ballots. The newsletter also contains rules that organizations must follow in the election process, such as Scot Council guidelines and electing officers before budgets are written and submitted.
The newsletters from LCSA contain crucial information for student organizations to function and thrive during the COVID-19 semester. However, some organizations struggle to find and obtain this information. Marissa Camacho ’22, president of Epsilon Kappa Omicron, acknowledged that “[her] organization feels as if it can sometimes be difficult to find essential deadlines with the semester being online.” Camacho stated that although the Sway newsletter contains all student organization information, “there is a lot of information that doesn’t apply to every organization in there,” and “it is also difficult when they don’t send out reminders about extremely important deadlines.” Still, Epsilon Kappa Omicron “feels that Microsoft Sway is a good alternative for the virtual format, but it could greatly be improved upon if there were email reminders sent out about important deadlines,” rather than the monthly newsletter.
Renick claimed that “Students Activities has historically not communicated well with student organizations. I understand the Sway newsletters, but I think they are an ineffective way to convey information.”
However, some student organizations, including Hillel, pointed out that the key is to stay observant of important deadlines on Sway. Bryce Knopp ’21, president of Equestrian Club, noted that with college communication via email, “you really have to be proactive about writing down important deadlines or else the information could get lost amid everything else.” Despite the Equestrian Club facing budget cuts last fall and summer “to the point where [they] could barely function” and had competition cancellations, Knopp said that “the information is there, it’s just a matter of keeping track of it.”
Rachel Jones ’22, co-president of Psychology Club, agreed. “[Psychology] Club has been able to find information regarding student organization deadlines. Every time the Student Activities office sends out a student organization letter, I write down important dates,” Jones told the Voice. When asked how communication can improve between student organizations and LCSA, Jones answered that “communication between the Student Activities office and all the student organizations is decent. But I think there could be an improvement when it comes to communicating with the individual clubs. I think communication can be improved by having a more efficient and organized emailing system.”