By Megan Corum
The LUCC General Council voted to pass a new amendment concerning the creation of student organizations on Monday, April 6.
“The amendment will address the challenges of a lack of collaboration or consolidation among commonly interested Lawrence University organizations,” said LUCC president Wesley Varughese.
Varughese stated that the major change to the existing legislation is “if the committee chooses to accept the group’s intent to register, the applicant organization shall be granted a four-week period in which to complete a certain set of organizational objectives designated by the committee.”
New organizations that want to be recognized by LUCC will have a four-week trial period during which they will have to carry out certain activities before being able to officially become a club.
Previously, student organizations “would be approved based on the application they submit and their interview with [the Steering Committee]. Basically, approval was based on their plans, not tangible actions,” said LUCC Public Relations Secretary Abedin Rafique.
“This amendment addresses the fact that running an organization is a far more difficult task than thinking of one or making plans for one.”
The only major challenge with the new amendment would be determining the activities for recognition. “It is difficult to define one set list of criteria because clubs are so different in nature, but we will work to come up with some uniform guidelines for setting goals,” explained Rafique.
The renewal process for student organizations remains similar, with organizations needing to file paperwork by the third week of Spring Term to be considered active the next year. Varughese explained that current organizations “must adhere to the renewal process, which already exists for re-recognition, but will be taken with taken with stronger consideration.”
“I personally think this new amendment will help student organizations reconsider their values, mission statements, and general plans in a given year with a more collaborative mindset,” concluded Varughese.