by McKinley Powers
Associated Students of Whitworth University approved a new committee on Wednesday, Oct. 15 with the goal of making weekly ASWU meetings more efficient.
The Club Chartering Committee is now responsible for making recommendations to the assembly on the chartering of ASWU clubs by providing a meeting prior to formal ASWU meetings, according to section VIII of the ASWU Constitution.
Those meetings will ensure that each club has an advisor, a clear structure, a considerable amount of future members and potential activities. Each club must meet those criteria in order to get a recommendation from the committee passed on to ASWU. Clubs must have the approval from Dick Mandeville, the vice president of student life, before moving on to ASWU for final vote.
Preceding to the Club Chartering Committee, the process of chartering a club included the prospective club contacting ASWU Financial Vice President Kevin Gleim and submitting a charter online. After the information had been checked, the group of students wanting to start the club were invited to attend the next ASWU assembly meeting and give a five to 10-minute presentation on their club’s mission and planned activities.
After presenting why the club should be chartered, the members of ASWU ask questions. Then, the club founders are asked to leave the room so ASWU members can discuss and vote on chartering the club. A majority vote charters the club.
However, after the approval of the Club Chartering Committee, students wanting to charter a club are required to follow a new procedure. The process is essentially the same, Gleim said, but now it is much more time efficient.
Coming up with the club idea, filling out a charter online and a preparing a presentation will remain the same, but rather than coming to an ASWU meeting to present the idea, the group of students will meet with the Club Chartering Committee.
The ASWU FVP, two assembly members and two members of the student body appointed by the FVP chair the committee.
When meeting with the committee, the group will present its idea along with all the same information that would have been presented at the ASWU assembly meeting.
After earning the committee’s approval, one representative from the prospective club will attend the next ASWU assembly meeting, where the committee would present the recommendation. The ASWU assembly will still have the final vote on whether to charter the club or not.
“It is kind of a filtering process,” Gleim said. “The former process took up too much time at ASWU meetings, so we created this committee to save time and be more efficient.”
One downside of the committee however is that the whole ASWU assembly doesn’t get to hear the prospective club’s full talk, they only get to hear a recommendation from the committee in order to save time, Gleim said.
“Clubs provide community and inclusion at Whitworth,” freshman Duvall/East zone representative Elaine Nabua said. “They give students a place to feel like they belong.”
Club Chartering Committee meetings are held when necessary to review a prospective club and give a recommendation to the ASWU assembly. Students interested in starting a new club on campus should contact Kevin Gleim to start the process.
Contact McKinley Powers at mpowers18@my.whitworth.edu