When a student notices that the wide selection of clubs UB has to offer has left something out, they are encouraged to make their own.
"First of all, [the students] have to get together a group of people, 10 being the minimum," said Ashish Abraham, vice president of the Student Association (SA). "Then they come up to SA and grab a form, which is basically how to write the constitution."
The constitution is the framework for a club and indicates its objective and purpose, according to Abraham. It includes many different things, such as the elected positions and how often the club will meet.
A club must have an E-Board, which consists of a president, vice president and treasurer, as dictated by SA guidelines. Initially, they are allowed to choose who will fill these positions. After that, however, all officers must be elected.
There are certain things a club must do before they are officially recognized. As a minimum requirement, temporary clubs are required to hold two club events, two fundraisers, work at two SA events and volunteer at two community service events.
A temporary club is entitled to the services that SA provides, such as reserving rooms. They do not receive an allotted fund that official clubs do.
The Brothers and Sisters in Christ (BASIC) is a club that has been unofficial for the past 17 years and is now trying to become an official club.
"We've been a temporary club since last spring," said Thomas Ryan, a junior aerospace and mechanical engineering major and president of BASIC. "We're hoping to be a complete club sometime this spring."
Ryan hopes that his club will soon be able to meet with the senate for the SA council.
"You need to have meetings," Ryan said. "We meet once a week with the E-Board. You just [need] to do a lot of paperwork."
BASIC is required to do a total of 12 functions, involving three SA events. According to Ryan, working Fall Fest or UB Getting Dirty count as SA events.
The Kendo Club is another temporary club that hopes to become an official club in the near future. The club began five years ago and has been running since, gaining temporary status last year.
"Canada has a very good university league, but the U.S. doesn't. So that's one of our goals, to promote that," said Jeffrey Koch, a senior mathematics major and president of the Kendo club.
Koch hopes that the Kendo club will be official by the end of this semester. As a sports club, they are required to compete and make sure that their members are physically ready to participate.
"It's paperwork," Koch said. "We have to make sure that our members turn in waiver forms."
According to Koch, SA provides a lot of information to help them meet the requirements for becoming an official club.
"If a temporary club acts like a full-fledged club, it's easier to become a club," Koch said.
For the Vietnamese SA, gaining official status is a matter of building their leadership from the ground up. According to Cha Vu, a sophomore biomedical science major and president of the Vietnamese SA, this has proven to be a difficult task because all of their E-Board members are new to their positions.
Since the Vietnamese SA is an international club, they are required to do cultural events.
"We participate in more cultural stuff, like international fiesta," Vu said. "People have their own cultural nights to showcase their culture. We're going to plan one when we're a recognized club."
According to Abraham, SA will recognize any club with a purpose and enough people to make it happen. Every club has the right to exist as long as they follow certain rules.
"No matter how controversial the club might be, as long as they adhere to our rules and are open to undergraduate students, we can't discriminate," Abraham said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
