Eight new student organizations recognized by LUCC

Abigail Schubach

The LUCC Steering Committee has recognized eight new student organizations since the term began. The committee, responsible for maintaining and drafting legislation and recognizing new groups, reviews groups for specific requirements before granting formal recognition.

Some of these requirements include the organization having at least five members that belong to the Lawrence community, and to be unique in its mission and focus. The committee meets Tuesdays at 8 p.m. to approve or deny proposals for recognition.

Campus Media Union will strive to “promote other student groups, and hopefully the campus at large,” according to sophomore Jamie Cartwright, who began the project. The goal of the new organization is to successfully promote new events and to “cultivate the real excitement that gets people pumped.”

Cartwright is responding to the problem that most events on campus are “mid-range events.” He plans to advance from an “overload of postering” to “engineering a human network of people.” New promotional ideas include online advertising and even flash-mobs.

Cartwright wants Lawrence students to know that the club plans to become “an established way of doing things,” rather than just another organization.

CMU’s first meeting is tomorrow, Oct. 15 at 3:00 p.m. in the Vining Davis Room on the 4th floor of the Warch Campus Center.

On a more academic note, seniors Valerie Nelson and Hattie Miles-Polka have re-started the Anthropology Club after three years of non-activity. Miles-Polka describes the club as “a space where people can talk about anthropology,” as well as “projects, study abroad and what’s going on in the field right now.”

Some activities the club has planned for this year are a day trip with Professor of Anthropology Peter Peregrine to explore the Indian grounds of Highcliff State Park on Lake Winnebago, a “Paleolithic cookout” with using only stone tools for grilling, trips to field museums in Milwaukee and Chicago, and assisting CADY in educating younger students at the Edison School District learn more about the field of anthropology.

Nelson wants Lawrentians to know that this organization is for “people who are interested in anthropology [even] in the slightest” and to keep an eye out for their publication, The AnthroNote, at the end of October.

People for Animal Welfare, pioneered by senior Christine Seeley, sophomore Sarah Gettel and sophomore Sarah Johnson, “is a student group committed to providing animal welfare opportunities to students” through political activism, volunteer work and fundraisers, stated Johnson.

Seeley, Gettel and Johnson noticed that students had been participating in animal welfare activities and volunteering at the shelter on their own, so they wanted to unify this effort in order to make more of an impact in the community.

The club members have already taken a trip to Saving Paws, an animal shelter located close to the Lawrence campus, to help clean up after the animals and simply to keep them company.

Johnson has already started a petition to prevent biology classes from using animals as subjects for their experiments. Last year, she opted out of using the animals provided to her in biology labs and used computer programs of digital dissections and plastic models to aid her study. She claims that she learned the material just as well as the rest of her class.

Junior Will Doreza, junior Emily Hamm and 5th-year senior Sara Brannon have decided to take advantage of the pervading Harry Potter culture at Lawrence University by creating the Lawrence University Magical Organization of Students.

“The goal of LUMOS is to bring fun, philanthropic Harry Potter-themed events to Lawrence students,” Doreza said. “The group will strive to keep the childhood magic alive, since the movies and books have stopped coming out.”

Events planned for this upcoming year include a Yule Ball, Quidditch matches, Wizards’ tournaments and an opportunity for children from the Appleton community to attend a “Harry Potter day” to “experience the magic through meeting characters, going to magic classes and other fun stuff,” according to Doreza.

The members of the club haven’t scheduled a weekly meeting time, because, Doreza said, they “don’t want to make the success of the club based on weekly meetings.” LUMOS founders and those interested in serious commitment will be planning large events open to the whole community.

“You can be involved as little or as much as you want to be. LUMOS is all about fun, and doing something for the community as well,” said Doreza.

The purpose of the newly-formed Lawrence Baroque Ensemble’s mission, according to senior Katelin Richter, the group founder, “is to study, rehearse and perform baroque music that enriches students’ liberal arts experience.”

The ensemble’s first event was “An Evening of Baroque Dance” in Spring 2010, which invited community members, faculty and students to explore the connection between dance movement in baroque art music.

This year, the group has planned a recorder workshop with Professor of Composition James Chaudoir of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh for beginner and experienced musicians before the end of Fall Term, as well as an “Evening of Baroque Dance” gala event during Spring Term, where audience members can “learn about the motion and vitality in baroque music through a dance class led by President Beck,” according to Richter.

Sophomore Elizabeth Barenholtz has created a new Hillel group for Jewish students on campus. The organization has already provided transportation to Moses Montefiore Temple in Appleton for students who desired to attend High Holy Day services this past month.

The organization plans on hosting Friday Shabbat Dinners and biweekly meetings to discuss future events and Judaism’s role in today’s society.

The Lawrence University Coalition of Independent Musicians is another new organization founded by juniors Will Klein and Nate Ryan.

“LUCIM is a forum for collective representation of those disenfranchised musicians’ interests and for inspiring collaborations, artistic exploration and greater accessibility of Lawrence University’s artistic culture to the community,” according to Klein.

The group seeks to form a coalition f
or independent student musicians who seek greater accessibility to campus spaces and resources, such as rehearsal space and equipment. LUCIM is planning events such as live concerts, themed showcases and workshops with professional musicians.

Finally, Devin Burri has founded Prescribed Escape Productions, although she was not available for comment.