Guide to Starting a Student Group
Launching a campus group at your school can feel overwhelming. Writing a constitution, setting and refining your goals, recruiting members, untangling bureaucratic red tape—the list of tasks and challenges may seem insurmountable. But rest assured, in the end the rewards of organizing and leading a campus group far outweigh costs in time and effort.
The tips on this page can alleviate some of the hassles and help you get your group up to speed quickly. If you have any questions along the way, please email us at Campus@TheIHS.org. You should also avail yourself of another excellent resource: the other student leaders who have guided their groups through the growing pains and who possess a wealth of information.
Tips for launching a campus group
1. Identify students and faculty with an interest in liberty
- Post flyers with your contact information.
- Put an add in your campus newspaper.
- Contact faculty members who might be interested.
- Use available resources:
- IHS can put you in contact with local alumni or faculty members.
- The local and national Libertarian Party may have campus contacts to share.
2. Set up an initial meeting with interested respondents
- Before meeting, research university requirements.
- Discuss the goals of group. You may find this overview of campus group types helpful.
- Elect temporary officers.
- Select a temporary group name.
- Pick time and place for your first official meeting.
3. Hold your first organizational meeting
- Contact the university and inform them of your organizational meeting. You may need to pay fees or fill out forms.
- Arrange a location with the university. Many schools allow you to hold one meeting on campus before officially registering as a group. Holding the first meeting on campus gives your group more credibility.
- Flyer the campus. Go to a print shop and invest in flyers. Post on sidewalks, bulletin boards, handrails, chains, bike racks, and bus stops.
- Elect officials.
- Get a good sense of what members want out of the organization.
- Set organization goals.
- Set the format of your meetings.
- Set realistic goals for your organization. Develop a working to-do list.
- Set member dues, if any.
- Set meeting schedule (bi-monthly, monthly, etc.).
4. Write your constitution
- Most universities require you to include certain provisions in your constitution—for example, a statement about discrimination and/or diversity. Check out the rules through your school's student group organization office. Note that some universities require you use their template constitution. If yours does not, feel free to use this sample constitution.
5. Build your online presence: Email and Web site
- Universities usually host student-group websites for free. This is a great way to bring visibility and credibility to your organization.
- Make sure to advertise your web address on your posters and flyers.
- Set up a form on your website so that people can easily join your group.
- Rather than list the email addresses of the officers as the contact for your organization, set up an email address for your group, either through your university or through a free email service such as hotmail or yahoo. Having an official email address ensures that the public will be able to contact your group even if you move locations or there are changes in personnel.
- Many groups find a listserv useful for announcements, officer organization, discussions, and a variety of other purposes. Many universities will set up a listserv for free. Other providers, such as Yahoo, offer free discussion groups.
Links:
The Liberty Coalition at the University of Virginia has a very useful guide about starting and organizing campus groups, including sample activities.
The International Society for Individual Liberty also offers a useful online pamphlet on how to start a successful libertarian outreach group.
