Creating a club only takes six members and an adviser, so why don’t more people take advantage of it?
Pierce College has 31 clubs and could have more if students knew the money is available to them.
It may come as a shock to people on campus that there is an excess amount of money — thousands of dollars — that the Associated Students Organization (ASO) does not use each year, which could be used for different club events.
The money comes from the $7 ASO membership fee, according to Brad Saenz, ASO adviser. This past year, ASO had a $170,000 budget and about $35,000 of it wasn’t used.
Since it is the students who are bankrolling this budget, then they should make sure the money gets back to them by starting clubs and having ASO fund the events.
Saenz said almost all of the requests clubs put in for money are approved and there is no cap on how much money they can get. It only depends on how much the event will benefit the campus.
However, he said having the clubs put on these events is becoming the hard part.
According to Saenz, clubs haven’t been motivated enough to have large-scale events, but he says it has improved.
Although Pierce is a two-year college, clubs can make it feel more like a university. Along with the community feeling, they can help you meet people you never would have talked to otherwise.
Even with the economy affecting many people and Saenz predicting $20,000 less for next year’s budget, he said he is not worried about any type of club or ASO funding.
“Sometimes we can do some tweaking to do better, but we’re OK with money,” he said.
Finding an organization that is willing to spend money at this time must be taken advantage of.
If the ASO has extra money set aside, join one of the current clubs. If you can’t find one, grab six friends (or strangers) and start a new one.
