Starting a new society
From SecularPortal
Starting a new society varies from university to university. Some unions are already packed out with student societies and so may have rules in place to ensure pointless societies are not started. Other unions are crying out for student societies and so are far more flexible in what they will allow. Regardless, with some determination you should be able to push through founding a free thinking student society (especially as you always have the discrimination card in your back pocket).
Your union will generally be quite helpful in starting a new society. There is usually a societies officer (or at least someone responsible) who will be able to talk you through the hoops you need to jump through in order to become ratified by your union. This is important as your union will generally provide funding, free room bookings and other facilities as well as space at freshers' fair and on the society listings.
It's always important to read the society rules and regulations, as each university runs things a little differently. Some only provide funding for new societies to start up, rather than running costs and you don't want to find that kind of thing out later on!
Typically there are a number of steps required to forming a new society. These include:
- Writing a constitution
- Forming a committee
- Affiliating with your students' union
- Registering with your University
Before you set up...
Once you're up and running...
