With the onset of a new academic year, students have a newly expanded list of organizations from which to choose when seeking opportunities for campus involvement. Since Spring term, the Council on Student Organizations has approved 17 new clubs and organizations, including the Dartmouth Fashion Council and the Super Smash Bros. Club, according to Associate Director of the Collis Center for Student Involvement Anna Hall.
New campus organizations must seek recognition by COSO for a set of privileges that include the rights to use the College's facilities and name in their titles and advertising, Hall said. Organizations seeking recognition must meet a series of requirements that ensure nondiscrimination and compliance with school rules.
When considering the approval of a new organization, COSO considers the club's commitment to College policies, the level of interest exhibited by students and its distinctiveness from other COSO-approved organizations. The amount of funding a club requests is not taken into account during the approval stage, according to Hall.
Once organizations are established, they may seek funding from COSO through a selective approval process for different events and activities, Hall said.
Many of the organizations held their first meetings and planning sessions last week, while others will launch later in the term.
Super Smash Bros. Club met for the first time on Sept. 18 in Collis with the intention of providing an outlet for students interested in building a niche gaming community.
Kishan Ughreja '15 and Ian Chaffin '15 unofficially founded the club last year in a McLaughlin cluster common room, according to Chaffin. For its earliest members, the games were a substance-free alternative for students who may have felt intimidated by the Greek scene, he said. Super Smash Bros. Club gathered approximately 140 names of interested students including all of the members of Psi Upsilon fraternity at this year's activity fair.
During their Tuesday meetings, members take turns playing two to three-minute rounds of the multi-player game on all three Nintendo platforms Wii, Gamecube and Nintendo 64. Members waiting their turn to play the game use the opportunity to socialize and meet others with similar interests, Chaffin said.
Strong interest in the club, reflected in a turnout of almost 60 students at its first meeting, has encouraged the club's leadership to pursue a range of expansion plans, according to Chaffin. Super Smash Bros. Club executives are currently considering a buy-in for charity, allowing players to donate a fixed amount of money for every "kill" they make while playing the game. Club members will also petition COSO for funding for video game tournaments later in the year, Chaffin said.
The Dartmouth Fashion Council a club whose mission is to express its members' interests in all types of fashion was established by Nancy Wu '15 and Randi Young '15. Originating as a blog, the council sought COSO approval when its founders identified an interest in fashion among Dartmouth students, Wu said.
"One of our purposes is to embrace diversity of different styles, different body sizes, different genders," she said. "We wanted to represent on-campus diversity in a fun way."
The club works to incorporate the ways in which an interest in fashion can manifest itself, Wu said. As a result, the organization's membership includes amateur bloggers, designers, photographers, cosmetologists and models.
This year, the council will host a fashion show to showcase its collaborative efforts, a clothing swap and regular photoshoots around Hanover, according to Wu. The Dartmouth Fashion Council recently received funding from COSO to host its own custom internet domain.
Other organizations founded in recent terms address a wide range of student interests. Among them are cultural and economic groups like Caribbean Connection, the German Club of Dartmouth College and the Microlending Society. Women's interest clubs, new publications and recreational groups such as Dartmouth Cooking and Grilling are also represented among the newest COSO additions.
