Starting A New Student Group

Brandeis has over 200 clubs and student organizations. Clubs can be formed for many reasons. Clubs exist to engage in sports or performance activities, to advocate for causes, and to educate the community, among other reasons. There are three types of student organizations:

Recognized Club

A recognized club must be accredited by the Student Union Senate. To be recognized, a club must obtain the signatures of ten prospective members. Recognized clubs have the following privileges:

To be listed on the Club Center web site and to have a web site of their own at http://people.brandeis.edu/~clubname.
To have a Union mailbox and to use Union resources, including duplications, paint room and art supplies, and the Union fax machine.
To use the Union Club Resource Center.
To use the University name and seal in conjunction with club activities.
To use university facilities, including classrooms, meeting spaces, and performance spaces.

Chartered Club

A chartered club must be approved by the Student Union Senate. To be chartered, a club must obtain the signatures of fifteen prospective members and 135 supporters (totaling 150 signatures). Chartered clubs may not duplicate the purpose of any already-chartered club. Chartered clubs may not discriminate in their membership. Chartered clubs are entitled to all of the privileges of recognized clubs, in addition to the following:

To request money from the Union Finance Board.

Secured Club

Secured clubs are specifically mentioned in the Student Union Constitution. They are a special class of club that cannot be dechartered and that receives a fixed amount of the Student Activities Fee each semester. Secured clubs often have special privileges related to their function. For example, WBRS 100.1FM has the privilege of operating under a radio broadcast license held by the Board of Trustees of Brandeis University. Secured clubs can only be created and removed by a constitutional amendment, and are generally derived from existing chartered clubs.

Creating Your Club

Here are the steps you can follow to start your own club:

Make sure that there is not already another club on campus with a similar purpose to yours. Go to myBrandeis Club Center to find other clubs.

Draft a constitution for your club. The constitution should include:

Club Name
Club Purpose
Titles and Roles of Club Officers
Definition of a Member
Methods of Selecting Club Officers
Nature of Club Meetings
Method of Adopting the Constitution
Constitutional Amendment Procedures
Statement of Non-Exclusivity
Statement defining the club as Recognized or Chartered.

The Statement of Non-Exclusivity must include, but is not limited to, the following statement: "Your Club is open to all members of the Brandeis Community. Your Club does not discriminate against members on the basis of sex, race, religion, sexual orientation, class, age, nationality, or physical ability." Clubs seeking recognition do not need to have a Statement of Non-Exclusivity.

Click here for a sample constitution (Word DOC)

Once you have your Club Constitution completed, you may begin collecting signatures. Forms are available in the Student Union Office, or below as PDFs. In order to get a club chartered, you must have 15 member signatures and 135 additional supporter signatures. In order to get a club recognized, you must have 10 member signatures (no supporter signatures are required for recognition).

Click here for a club member signature sheet (PDF)

Click here for a club supporter signature sheet (PDF)

Once you have gotten all your signatures, bring them and the constitution to the Student Union office (Shapiro Campus Ctr. room 301) during office hours to have them read and signed by a senator. This senator will become your "senate buddy" and will assist you in your presentation to the Senate.

In order to get the club on the Senate agenda for a given week, a copy of the Constitution, Membership Form, and Supporter Form must be in the Executive Senator's mailbox by 5:00pm on the Wednesday before the Senate meeting you wish to attend. An electronic copy of the club constitution must also be emailed to the Executive Senator by that same time.

Before attending the Senate meeting, you must attend a meeting of the Club Support Committee. Club Support Committee meetings are held Monday nights at 9PM in the Student Union Office. The Club Support Committee works to help prepare clubs for the types of questions they will be asked by the Senate.

The Executive Senator will tell you if you make it onto the agenda. Three representatives from your club must attend the next Senate meeting to present your club and answer any questions Senators might have. Senate meetings take place every Sunday at 7:00pm.