Starting a New Society

Starting up a society, which becomes successful, is a great achievement and apart from the feel-good factor will look great on your CV.

Setting up a society is quite easy really

You will need:

Forms

Constitution Form
Societies Committee Officer Form
Societies Register

When these are completed, it's worth having a chat with the VP Student Activities to talk about your new society and how you see it shaping up.

The process starts with your information being submitted to the next Societies/Arts/Media Executive committee meeting. The committee will assess your constitution and either recommend your society to the next Societies/Arts/Media General Meeting or will reject your constitution, but will contact you to let you know why and if you can still submit for affiliation with a few changes.

After all this you need is to attend the next Societies/Arts/Media GM. During the course of this meeting you will be asked to present the society for affiliation. No dramatic gestures needed here. Just a description of what your society is and does. We just need to know that it is not subversive or contentious and that it is what students can get involved with. You may be asked questions about your society by other societies at the general meeting.

Once Affiliated you will be given:

• A pigeon hole for incoming post and messages.
• Your society bank account.
• Use of Union notice boards to post your events and messages
• A PIN number to use on Union machines whenever you do reprographics.
• An email address for your society.
• A website on Bathstudent.com.

Funding for your society will be allocated by the societies executive committee. Most societies are not funded for the first year of existence but your membership fee's and activity costs should cover any events or activities that you hold. If you are an Arts society you may be allocated money from the Arts development fund.

There are several members of Union staff available who can give you lots of advice about any aspect of setting up a society, so if you are having any problems just pop into the societies office.

A few points to be aware of!

There are a couple of issues that occasionally crop up with new societies:

• You cannot set up a society that covers a subject/activity that is currently covered by an existing society/club or area of the Union.
• Some societies are involved in political activity. If your society is planning to take part in anything with a contentious or political aspect then it is worth talking to the VP Student Activities or Societies Co-ordinator about the laws that govern Students' Union's and political activity.
• Your society must not be undertaking any illegal or immoral activity, or anything that goes against current Union policies.
• Your Society must meet the Unions' Equal opportunities policy. This means that any Union member has the opportunity to join any society and to take part in its activities no matter who or what they are. We aim to create an environment "in which individuals and groups are free to partake in activities and are free from discrimination, harassment and intimidation''
• Societies must be run by students. You can only have students who are members of BUSU (Bath University Students' Union) on the committee/ running the society. Non-BUSU members can take part in activities by becoming associate members. Non-BUSU members are not allowed to make decisions or be involved with the running of a society. You can find out more about this issue by contacting the VP Student Activities or the Societies Co-ordinator.
• Safety is always an issue! If your society is planning on running activities that may have safety implications for those taking part. If you have any issue about health and safety then please come and talk to us or visit Student Safety for more information.

How to recruit 30 members

The main opportunity to recruit new members is at the Clubs & Societies Fair (see the section on this). When this has passed you may need to find other ways to recruit.

• Put a notice / article in Impact.
• Put a notice on the societies board with tear off slips for people to take and contact you.
• Set up a recruitment stall in the Norwood or Library Foyer.
• Make an eye-catching display to attract people.

Society Committee Structure

Make up a committee from your 30 members. You will need a Chair,Treasurer and a Secretary (see the section in ‘General Info' on society committees). There are other posts that you can set up, depending on the needs of your society.

This all sounds very complicated but don't be put off. The idea is to get a strong team working with and for you so that you are not landed with all the work. People like jobs to do but you need to give them things to do – not just a title.

The admin staff assigned to your area – general societies, media or arts – will be pleased to help you with reprographics, cards, etc. If you are concerned about your finances at any time go and see the VP Student Activities or your area treasurer who can give advice where needed.

Reviving a Club or Society

Reviving a club or society that has existed in the last two years.

During this year, you look through the list of clubs and spot one that tickles your fancy. Unfortunately wen you make further inquiries you find it is now defunct as no one was around to run it this year. Being in an interested kind of mood, you decide to revive it yourself, and so go asking the VP Student Activities for details.

Once you have recruited 30 members for your club or society you need to complete the standard forms. Next step is to submit your constitution to the societies exec and if approved, attend the societies general meeting (general societies/arts/media – depending on the category) and become re-affiliated. After this you need to ensure that you are given all the relevant facilities, i.e. pin number, pigeon hole, etc. A notice in Impact would be useful so that students know the society is up and running.

It might be worthwhile asking one of the societies administrators to dig up an old society folder, which you can refer to. You might want to change certain aspects of the constitution or even re-name it.

That is really all there is to it. Don't forget the Societies executive committee and VP Student Activities will always be happy to help you make this a successful revived society.