Groups troubled by leadership transitions

The student organization directory maintained by the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students lists 346 campus groups, but contacting some of these organizations may actually prove more difficult than starting one anew.

Associate Dean of Undergraduate Students Thomas Dunne said in an e-mail that ODUS maintains regular contact with all student groups. “Regular e-mails are sent to all student organizations with important notices and information, including sign-ups for the activities fair, regular workshops like Financial First Fridays and leadership development opportunities,” he said.

Dunne explained that ODUS only sends e-mails to the listed address, and that it is in every group’s “best interest” to maintain it. But the surf club, the aeromodeling club, the bridge club, the Gaelic society, the Unix users group and the triathlon club did not respond to e-mails sent by The Daily Princetonian to addresses listed for each organization on the directory.

The online directory, Dunne said, is updated when a new group is formed or an officer fills out a “change of officer” form — but in some cases, the information on file is outdated.

Though the billiards club lists Nikhil Trivedi ’11 as its president on the ODUS website, Trivedi said he no longer serves in that role.

“Though it’s listed on the ODUS website, [the billiards club] isn’t active with official events for the school community,” he said. Trivedi explained that “the club does not have regular meetings,” though it does have “people who are very interested in it.”

The group recognition process begins with an application, including a proposed constitution, to the Student Group Recognition Committee, which is led by the USG student groups liaison and meets weekly. Once recognized by the SGRC, prospective groups register through ODUS.

Students said the main challenges groups face to avoid becoming defunct include maintaining leadership continuity and keeping the organization active.

“We’ve added to the litmus test ... a very strong plan for sustainability of the organization,” said John Monagle ’12, the SGRC chair. Monagle also explained that students can choose to reactivate dormant organizations without going through the group recognition process again.

“One of the toughest challenges for new groups is definitely new leadership,” said Trivedi, who is also a former co-president of the entrepreneurship club. But unlike the billiards club, Trivedi said, the entrepreneurship club is very active.

Joshua Hoskins ’11, president of the anime-manga club, said in an e-mail that he plans to train a successor to lead the club after he graduates, in order to streamline succession.

Martina Car ’10, president of the figure-drawing club, said in an e-mail that the club has not met for over a year but that the officers plan to “pass it on to underclassmen after we are done with our theses.”

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Former SGRC co-chair Nick DiBerardino ’11 said that “there are a lot of resources out there to help student groups stay alive.”

This year, ODUS has registered 13 new student groups, while 25 groups were approved last year.

Newly approved organizations include groups dedicated to Yiddish, stargazing, Sikhism, Brazilian culture, the Palestine-Israel peace process and immigration issues associated with the DREAM legislation.