Getting involved

Marin County native Samantha Wong didn’t know what to expect when she first arrived in Chico as a college freshman four years ago, yet the self-described “homebody” grew into a confident leader after joining a sorority during her second semester.

“I don’t know what my college experience would have been like without it,” she said.

Wong is thankful for the conflict-resolution, time-management, and verbal skills that she has gained during her three years as a Greek. She said that she feels ready to interview for her first job thanks to her jam-packed résumé and real-life experience.

There are countless examples of college students like Wong who have enjoyed the benefits of getting involved in a campus organization, because many learning experiences happen outside of the confines of a classroom.

A recent poll by Harris Interactive revealed that the average college student is in class for only 1.7 hours a day, and spends only an additional 1.6 hours studying at home. That leaves a big chunk of time to fill. Fortunately, there are many options for Chico State students who want their college experience to be more than just vegging out on the couch to endless CSI marathons.

More than 250 recognized student organizations are listed on the Student Activities Office Web site. The focus of these groups ranges from community service to professional development to social activities. Planning on becoming a business major? Maybe you should think about joining the International Association of Business Communicators. Obsessed with Hogwarts and quidditch? The Harry Potter Club might be for you.

The Student Activities Office is located on the second floor of the Bell Memorial Union and is staffed by three professional and many student employees, who coordinate recreational sports, the Cross-Cultural Leadership Center, the Campus Alcohol and Drug Education Center, and Greek Life.

Associate Director Rick Rees graduated from Chico State in 1975 and remembers the importance of getting involved on campus as a student. He is proud of the “phenomenally active” student groups and their contributions to the university.

“Joining a student organization will greatly enhance your experience here, or it might even be your experience here,” he said.

Rees has noticed that his office gets busy—“with people lined up out the door”—by the third week of classes, once the new students have had a chance to settle into their new home away from home.

He helps students create their own organization if there isn’t one that suits their interests. While some groups on campus have been active for more than 60 years, others come and go. All of the necessary paperwork is available online, as well as a constantly updated master list of clubs and contact information.

Survey information gathered at the summer-orientation sessions by the Student Activities Office about the interests of incoming freshmen are sent to different student groups on campus to match students up with opportunities to get involved.

The Student Activities Office also hosts a large campus- and community-information fair with up to 100 different booths on the Kendall Hall lawn in the fall. Here’s a look at some of the organizations:

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DYK … that you could be suspended—or even expelled—for getting into a physical fight? It pays to keep the testosterone at bay.

Greek Life

Chico State’s sororities and fraternities have a long and colorful history dating back to 1918. Today, the around 1,200 students that make up the Greek community are working to disprove negative stereotypes through philanthropy.

Greeks participate in a wide range of community-service activities including blood drives, canned-food collections, park cleanups, and Cinderella’s Closet, a program that collects used prom dresses for high school girls who couldn’t otherwise afford one.

Wong, the recreation administration major who said that being involved in Gamma Phi Beta helped her find herself and grow as a leader, spent three years in her sorority. She served as the chapter president and recruitment officer before being elected as the president of the Panhellenic Council, the governing body that oversees all of the Chico State-affiliated sororities.

“Whatever happens to one chapter, we need to be there to support them because we are a family,” she said.

The social aspect, of course, is part of the experience, too. Most sorority sisters have an extensive collection of T-shirts from all of the Greek dances, sports competitions and recruitment events they’ve attended.

“I’ve got a quilt made of about 25 shirts; it’s a fun way to look back on your school career,” Wong said. “I’ve made a lot of memories and have so many pictures to scrapbook.”

Wong encourages students who are interested in rushing a sorority or fraternity to meet with each chapter and find a good fit. They should be aware of the cost (it is about $800 for new members) and the GPA requirement (a minimum of 2.5).

“Joining a sorority is a unique experience that is hard to understand unless you actually have done it,” she said.

CLIC

Another well-established student program is the Campus Legal Information Center, otherwise known as CLIC. Now entering its 40th year, the organization gives students real-world experience as “paralegal interns” serving the Chico community while earning academic units.

Michael Kowalsky, a senior political science major, is an administrative director for CLIC and first found out about the program in 2007 after returning from a study-abroad trip in London.

“This program is what will stick out in my mind about my college career,” he said. “I’ve met some of my closest friends in this office.”

The political science department and Associated Students oversee the CLIC office, where students work an average of eight hours each week with licensed attorneys. All majors are invited to participate and internships are offered year-round.

Between June and December 2008, CLIC provided information for 5,982 client cases, with the help of 115 student interns.

“Even if you aren’t interested in law as a future profession, it feels great to help someone with a legal issue,” Kowalsky said, adding that he wished he had become involved during his freshman year.

Ballroom Dance

College is a balancing act; there is a time for work and a time for play. And for the members of the Ballroom Dance Club, there is always time to dance.

The group hosts eight dances and multiple workshops throughout each semester that attract 50 to 200 attendees with varying levels of dance experience. A core group of 15 officers takes on the planning of the events so that everyone else can simply arrive ready to show off their best moves.

Senior Peter Harvey is on the planning committee for the dances and has loved the social aspect of the club. As a civil engineering major who sometimes spends hours completing a single complicated math problem, he said it is nice to just have some time to hang out and meet new people.

“When you are dancing, you can’t think about schoolwork,” he explained with a big grin.

Harvey moved to Chico State from the East Coast and found his social circle when he joined the club. The officers sometimes grab a bite to eat together or go on camping trips, but the majority of their time together is spent dancing.

His favorite dance is the salsa, but throughout the year the group does everything from tangos to waltzes to West Coast swing. Harvery said there is something for everyone.

“This club shows that you don’t have to drink to have a good time,” he added.

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DYK … that Chico State’s president, Paul Zingg, was physically attacked in his office last semester? The attacker wasn’t a student, and Zingg mightily defended himself until campus police arrived.

CAVE

One of the oldest and most widely known Chico State programs is CAVE—Community Action Volunteers in Education. Founded in 1966, the student-run nonprofit agency overseen by the Associated Students provides 20 different volunteer programs, ranging from classroom tutoring to Bidwell Park clean-ups.

Every year, 2,000 students donate 60,000 hours of community service through CAVE. Senior history education major Danielle Panec came to Chico as a transfer student and found that getting involved with the group helped her find her “place” on campus.

“It’s great to be part of something that is bigger than yourself,” she said, sitting at her desk in the CAVE office on the third floor of the BMU.

Panec first got started in CAVE as an elementary school classroom aide and loved it so much that she began taking on leadership positions, first as a group leader, than as a coordinator for the aide program, and now as the director of all classroom activities.

She has many fond memories of her time with CAVE, but said that the one moment that really sticks out in her mind was helping to diagnose a third grader who was struggling in school with dyslexia.

CAVE recruits new student volunteers through classroom talks, tabling and by word of mouth. Panec said that the people she has met through the program have become like family to her. She hopes that potential volunteers take the time to get involved.

“People are sometimes hesitant to get involved because they feel busy, but this is one of the few things that you can do that actually gives something back,” she said.