by Skyler Noble
When I walk around campus, I do not see many flyers relating to the clubs on campus. Did you know that there is a fly fishing club at Whitworth? How about the Alzheimer’s club?
I probably would not have known about them if I didn’t look into the ASWU website. We do not hear much about the clubs on campus. Yet, they have the funding to inform the community about what they do on and off campus. Clubs do not take advantage of their ability to advertise and they do not tap into their full attendance potential.
There are myriad clubs that have been established at our school; however, most of them do not advertise their meetings or their existence in general. ASWU sets aside money in the school’s budget especially for clubs and I do not see them use that money for any sort of promotion. Every once in awhile I will get an “ASWU Announces” email that elaborates a special event a club is hosting. However, that does not tell me the purpose of the club or its significance to the Whitworth community. In addition, most people will look past these emails because they deem them as junk mail. Clubs should make a thoughtful effort to reach out to students in their spare time and express their values and beliefs.
Clubs that have been established for long periods of time know how to attract students to their meetings. One of these clubs is En Christo. I constantly receive emails from its members about their meetings and its relevance to the Whitworth and Spokane communities. Clubs that know how to organize and attract new members know how to use their funds, which will in turn attract even more members. Recently, I got an email from En Christo that explains what time the group meets and what they do at each meeting. In addition to this, the En Christo team took the time to tape notes on dorm room doors. These notes read, “Love on Spokane by making sandwiches and delivering them to some pretty awesome folks.” This line sparks interest in potential members through an invitation to see what the club stands for.
More clubs at our school should take initiative and advertise their meetings and special events. Club awareness should be spread not only through email, but through posters as well. They can use their budget that to invite students who are unaware of the club.
I am typically unaware of what’s going on with clubs. My ASWU emails will get sent to my junk mail or I will skim my inbox to look for emails that need immediate attention. I would love to hear more about what the clubs have to offer and when they meet. Students should learn more about the clubs that do not receive as much attention. I’m sure the community would like to know when the Mission Club, the Longboard Club or the Political Science club meets; however, there is rarely information about how to get involved in the variety of clubs that serve Whitworth.
Contact Noble at snoble18@my.whitworth.edu