New Rules Benefit Student Organizations
By MAYA BOKHARI ‘20
On Tuesday, September 18, junior and senior heads of Milton’s 50+ clubs, organizations, and publications joined their faculty sponsors and Kelly Reiser, Director of Student Activities, for a meeting that would introduce the new requirements for running a school-sponsored organization. While the immediate task at hand was to prevent any and all hazing within these groups, the club heads left Wigglesworth Hall with even more work to do outside of their already overwhelming academic schedules.
The first action for all organizations involves the leaders’ drafting of a constitution by next month. Heads and board members will create a document that outlines the purpose of their organization, expectations of the participants, and goals for the group. Then, to showcase their dedication toward their constitution and weekly maintenance of their group, club heads will have to either hold a morning assembly or host an activity open to all members of the community. Finally, Ms. Reiser expects each organization to periodically provide goals and accomplishments to the Student Activities Office.
Hopefully, with the addition of a concrete framework on which all organizations will be based, each organization will not only have a greater presence in the community but also have a greater impact on the community. As one of three co-heads of Milton’s South Asian Society (SAS, Thursdays @ 3!), I look forward to creating a clearer mission statement—especially since so many of our meetings are discussion based.
Often filled by guest speakers whom many students feel no connection towards, Wednesday assemblies may become the perfect place to celebrate Milton’s own niche groups. In fact, I went to my first S.A.S meeting after hearing the then co-heads Pari Sharma ’18 and Vijaya Anisett ’18, present at a Monday morning assembly. So many student organizations go unnoticed by other students and faculty members, but while a required physical public presence may feel like a burden to some club heads, the overall community will benefit from an opportunity to find and connect with a group many people may not have known even existed.
What many club heads may see as a waste of their valuable time may serve as motivation and a source of greater productivity for each organization. Furthermore, mandatory notifications of goals and accomplishments will undoubtedly prepare each student leader for the workplace, and, realistically, requesting information on how school-funded clubs are functioning is not too much to ask.
Unfortunately, Milton students have grown accustomed to clubs’ being low priority, stress-free outlets, and, consequently, many students are now oversubscribed. Seniors, in the midst of their early college applications, make up the vast majority of club heads, and many of them are key members of multiple organizations. For them, adding the preparation of a constitution, a presentation or event, and a list of goals and accomplishments may unsuspectingly flood their already overwhelming schedules. The underclassmen, however, may have an advantage when they face the challenges of senior fall because they joined these organizations knowing the newly introduced club head responsibilities.
I feel Milton will benefit from more prevalent regulations surrounding the student organization policies. Both new and returning students will have more opportunities to discover the groups they truly want to join. Additionally, the Student Activities Office will have a better understanding of where its funding goes. The current upperclassmen leaders will suffer the time limitations that accompany the extra effort that comes with the new regulations, but the underclassmen who will someday take over these clubs will not be as oversubscribed as today’s upperclassmen, and with their commitment to their groups will come valuable contributions to the community.