New system aims to improve funding procedures among others
Greta Kooy // Campus Life Editor
Clubs on Capilano University’s campus were reorganized this year. The update includes changes to clubs’ executive committees as well as funding procedures.
Student-run clubs can be a lot of work, and without the right amount of interest and support they tend to not stick around for long. In the hopes to resurrect the life of clubs on campus, and to make it easier on both new and existing clubs, the Capilano Students’ Union (CSU) has made some alterations to the way clubs operate at CapU. These changes were also enacted to encourage more club activity and student participation, something that had been lacking in the past.
Before this year, the CSU required just one club executive, leaving one person responsible for a club’s organization, activity and finances. Now, before getting approval from the CSU, a club must have three official executives, including a president, treasurer and secretary. “Therefore,” said Yats Palat, vice president student life, “you have three people’s worth of engagement and interaction,” and the likelihood of that club surviving and thriving is greater.
Having three individuals responsible safeguards the club’s future and ensures that even if the founder of a club leaves campus or graduates the club will not simply collapse.
Funding for clubs has also been simplified under the changes of the CSU. Clubs receive $200 every semester. According to Palat, this is “to help fund their events, to help fund their meetings. It’s hard otherwise for clubs to get together when they don’t have the financial support that they need.”
Funds are approved by the CSU staff, which means smaller requests can be made quickly and more efficiently. Clubs may request further funding, up to $500, which is approved by the CSU’s executive committee or the board of directors.
On Sept. 21, the CSU hosted CapU’s inaugural Clubs and Collectives Day in the CSU Members Centre. The event showcased the different clubs and collectives available on campus and boasted free pizza and chocolate-dipped strawberries for students.
“We expected to have close to maybe, 75 to 100 students. And that we’d get approximately 80 to 100 signatures,” said Palat. Within the two-hour span, nearly 300 students showed up, and over 200 signatures were given out. For a campus as small as CapU’s, that’s a significant number of signatures.
Among participating clubs and collectives were the Accessibility Justice Collective, Young Women in Business, Anime Club, Capilano Yoga Club, Capilano Queer Collective and the Arabic Cultural Club. There are a total of 14 active clubs and collectives on campus, virtually something for everyone.
The CSU Clubs and Collectives Day ran on a budget of $850. Funding for this event comes specifically from the CSU’s clubs line item. Of that, $600 was spent on food and the remaining $250 was given as a prize to the club that received the most signatures. The winning group was The Capilano Yoga Club.
For more information on clubs at CapU, please visit Csu.bc.ca.