MORE for student orgs
There are exactly 64 chartered student organizations functioning on Calvin’s campus. Throughout the year, these organizations sponsor rugby games, weekly newspapers, dance lessons, TV programming, lectures and vegan potlucks, among other things. However, to qualify as a student organization, each club must also plan a major annual event and invite the entire school. These major events take planning, marketing, funding and organization. That’s why MORE was created.
[photo here]
Marketing, Organization, Resources and Events (MORE) is a student event-planning committee started this year through the student development office. Student members may receive internship credit to help other organizations (“orgs”) promote and plan their events, whether by making and distributing posters or by sitting down and “game planning” a strategic approach to an event
"I want this group to help all kinds of leaders do what they want to do well,” said Erin O’Connor Garcia, coordinator of student activities and organizations at Calvin since 2006.
Student organization leaders are responsible for bringing their passion for their orgs to the greater Calvin community. “[It’s] not just thinking about what you enjoy,” explained O’Connor-Garcia, “but how to open it up to other people.”
Strategic Thinking
She, along with Calvin senior Kat Stahl, advises MORE. O’Connor-Garcia said MORE exists to help student orgs think strategically about running their events. Stahl was the mastermind behind the committee comprised of five students and two staff members. She felt there needed to be a better way for students with good ideas to initiate their events: “I think we often assume organization leaders know what resources are available and how to use them. MORE is there to help them put on events and walk through the process.”
The students involved in MORE had to go through an application process before receiving their internship credit and position on the committee. “The people who are talented for this,” said O’Connor-Garcia, “are people who are creative and organized.” The committee meets independently every Wednesday night, and members dedicate time outside the meeting to working on behalf of student organizations.
MORE has already helped some orgs on campus plan their upcoming events. Both the Global Business Brigade and the Environmental Stewardship Coalition have met with the MORE committee to plan their November events.
More Productive
Stahl and O’Connor-Garcia are very careful to distinguish that MORE does not plan, initiate or implement events directly, but rather helps students plan their events by either sitting down and meeting with organization representatives or sending a request by email. MORE offers creative and constructive feedback, as well as helping with booking facilities and marketing events. MORE even helps create and distribute fliers from time to time. “I got the feeling that some orgs don’t know how to make themselves known on campus,” Stahl said.
O’Connor-Garcia and Stahl hope that—with a little extra help from MORE—student organizations can become more productive and better known on campus. "I’m excited,” Stahl said, “that students take time out of their busy schedules to use their skills to create something for other students — to create something they are passionate about.”
For more information on MORE or student organizations, contact Erin O’Connor-Garcia at eao4@calvin.edu