LIFESTYLE: Membership Has Its Privileges?

On campus, there is a Penn club for everyone Whether students want to brew beer or smoke cigars, they need not look farther than the Office of Student Life Activities and Facilities. For there lies a master list of registered campus clubs including such novelties as the Penn Enterprising Zymurologists, the Cigar Club, and many other eclectic new organizations founded by students in recent months. From the Sporting Club to the Amorphous Jugglers, many off-the-beat clubs are making their mark on campus. As of last spring over 300 clubs were registered with the Office of Student Life, and of those clubs about 160 were recognized by the Student Activities Council. SAC guidelines state that new student clubs are conceived to fulfill a need on campus that is untouched by existing organizations. For cigar smoker Aram Sabet, there was no forum to discuss his interest. "People around campus asked me about cigar smoking and I found a lot of men and women cigar smokers," said the Wharton senior. "So we got the club going to discuss different brands." By creating new organizations, students said they hope to learn more about their subject of interest from the experience of others. Beer brewer Steve Kronenberg founded the Penn Enterprising Zymurologists to "bring peoples experience together and help those interested in brewing beer," the College senior said. Many clubs are founded not only to fulfill students' interests, but to educate the University community on related issues not discussed by any other clubs. "We try to educate the Penn community about cigar smoke," Sabet said. "Cigar smoke is not as dangerous as cigarette smoke." The members of the Penn Enterprising Zymurologists said they are interested in researching beer's influence in ancient civilization. "We are hoping to increase information available to students," Kronenberg said. "Since beer is related to the foundations of agriculture, we are hoping to learn more about the roots of civilization." Members of the newly established Wharton Investment Network said they hope to gain practice in the field of investment banking. WIN Senior Vice President and Wharton junior Guy Zaczepinski said that the investors network hopes to apply the theoretical concepts learned in the Wharton School to practical investment situations. "We are going to hold workshops and mini-courses on the market," he said. "This experience will be useful because Wharton students do not see practical applications until senior year." To be officially recognized, new club founders can register their groups in the Office of Student Life Activities and Facilities. Registration is a simple process, requiring only the club's name, purpose and four contact people. Once the new club is registered, the members will be able to meet in Houston Hall's rooms free of charge. Then, clubs may apply for SAC funding, which can be a more difficult process. "Clubs will apply for SAC recognition for two reasons," said Director of Student Activities and Facilities Fran Walker. "One is to receive funding and to have an input in what other groups are recognized. Also, SAC allows groups to be more in the center of the campus wide activities program." Clubs must fit a standard set of guidelines in order to receive recognition -- SAC will not recognize and fund sectarian organizations like the Newman Center or Hillel or groups that cater to a particular issue or problem that may not exist in the future. Groups falling into these categories are encouraged to work within existing groups. The process of attaining recognition begins with a trial period. "It is SAC policy that a club must be active for three months before consideration," Walker said. "This eliminates frivolous clubs." After the club has maintained an active position on campus for three months, the members may write a constitution stating the purpose, advisory and governmental procedures of the club. SAC's steering committee will read the constitution and make a recommendation to the entire SAC body, which will then vote on the status of the club. Clubs that support a political idea may be perceived as exclusive, and therefore will not be recognized by SAC. Also, clubs that endorse substances or products that are not approved by SAC may face challenges when applying for recognition. The Meshugeneh Club, which was founded this fall to unite all denominations of the Jewish religion in a social atmosphere, will apply for SAC recognition despite the fact that Hillel is unrecognized, said club founder and College junior Noah Rossman. "We are opened to everyone," Rossman said. "Yes, we would like Jewish people to come out, but we would like to be inclusive." Though the Cigar Club is based on an interest in cigar smoking, the club did receive SAC recognition last spring. "We made it clear that we do not promote smoking," said Sabet. "We try not to be political." Clubs may decide not to apply for SAC recognition if they are not interested in funding offered by SAC. The Wharton Investment Network, for example, has no intention of applying for SAC recognition. "We do not really need the funding," Zaczepinski said. "We are currently trying to raise $2 million in Wharton alumni donations to invest in the stock market." While a club is applying for SAC recognition, they may submit a budget request form to the finance committee. "The process is not hard," said co-president of the Amorphous Jugglers Scott Dodro. "SAC has a lot of money to distribute, you just have to stay within their guidelines." But some club presidents do not find the SAC funding process to be inclusive of all student groups. "I don't think SAC will give us money," Sabet said. "We don't push it because of the smoking issue." Sporting Club Co-President Dan Spears, has had great difficulty attaining SAC money to sponsor the club's membership at a shooting range. "We cannot receive SAC funding until Risk Management has checked out the safety of the range," the Wharton senior said. The Sporting Club has faced many challenges since their SAC recognition in February, he said. "We have had problems with the anti-gun sentiment on this campus," said Sporting Club Co-President Stefan Gerhard. "The school should know that our club is for the safe use of weapons." But the Sporting Club was not awarded SAC money to buy equipment, said Gerhard, a Wharton senior. "We did not even get funding for minor hunting equipment or trips while the debate team gets sent to a competition in Australia," he said. Ron Jasner, the assistant director of Risk Management, was not able to make a recommendation to SAC concerning the safety of the Sporting Club's field trips to the shooting range because of issues regarding liability. "Anybody can join a shooting club independently," Jasner said. "But the Sporting Club is asking for SAC money, which involves the University. "We are not saying no," he added. "Our job is to give advice and counsel -- we render decisions of insurance." Once a club receives SAC recognition and funding, they are faced with the challenge of maintaining a strong presence on campus and an active membership. With the Amorphous Jugglers, Dodro said it is hard to keep membership up all year round. "Maybe people find clubs that are more important than juggling," he said. "Some recruiting years are better than others." The most important factor in club survival is finding an interested group of underclassmen, Dodro said. "We must make new members feel welcome so they will come back," he said. "But a club can survive even with a one year gap." For the Cigar club, "a great challenge will be getting organized," Sabet said. "Also, if we are faced with opposition, we might have to meet off campus." Founders of the Meshugeneh Club must find a solid group of core members to insure the group's stability. "We are looking for people who feel that this is something that they want to work for," Rossman said.