Effective Student Organization/Hosting Events

This section is to list the solutions to the problems of hosting events including planning, finding a event place, and accounting for the number of people at the event.

Hosting Events

Most, but not all, clubs hold events supplementary to routine meetings. Often used for recruiting purposes, events can include anything from group hikes, community service, and bike rides to movie-viewings, game nights, and barbecues. Such affairs act as informal introductions to potential members, and as builders of community relationships. The event planning process can take myriad forms due to the variety of club-sponsored events; however, it is often an arduous syncing of ideas, people, times, locations, and event promotions. Following are sample steps for the coordination of, and the themes and motivations spurring club-sponsored events.

Planning

Before an event can be put on there is the planning process. Before actions can be taken, a club must look at its budget. If a club doesn't have enough money to cover the fees the event would generate they may look for another club to help them pay for the event. This club would probably want to benefit from the event as well, its best if there is some synergy between the two or more clubs. If one club is going to be the main host, they could incorporate some additional activity that will benefit the other club helping with the funds. This is a great way to show that Western is more of a family community. (ex. the Ritmo Salsa Latino Dance club would like to put on an event but they don't have enough money to pay for the dance hall. They could get in contact with another performance club and split the cost. Ritmo Salsa club would contact the Tango club, and the Swing club. Each club would put up some cash toward the event)

Once a club has the funding to support an event, either from Associated Students or the clubs’ own fundraising, there is much more planning to go. The next step would be to choose a location. Whether you are hosting the event on campus or off campus you will need to seek permission from some supervisor. It can take a couple weeks so that’s why it’s important to secure a location before doing anything else. It is also good to know the site’s resources for the event, people capacity etc. The next step in planning an event is advertising. There are tons of different ways to do this and it is good to incorporate different outputs, such as posters and word of mouth in red square. The info fair held at the beginning of the year is one of the most effective ways of advertising for events (as long as they are planned out by that time and combines word of mouth, and posters in a way. A combination will be more effective than one or the other. Facebook has become increasingly popular as a method for publicity to the community as well. Try to get people to RSVP to the event so that you have an idea of how many people to expect and also it makes those who sent a RSVP or signed up to volunteer, accountable. Some events are more observatory and some are more participatory. It is good to plan back-up activities in case the event isn’t going as planned; something you can pull out in case of social disaster. Next we will look at planning an event in more depth and how clubs at Western Washington University have incorporated these methods.

Co-hosting Events

Through the interviews with the Students for Slum Doctor Program I found that the initial attendance and organization of the event is the hardest. Once it takes off the ground however, it becomes much more inspiring. Clubs who face low membership, funds and difficulties in rounding up attendees to events can co-host an event with another club supporting similar interests. This allows for more organizational help and the club allowances can be combined. It most importantly spreads the word in a very efficient manner. Allowing for more members allows for more possibility of the passing of information. It would be possible to hook up with a larger community reaching club here on campus like KUGS at Western Washington University who could get fund raising event messages for clubs like Students for Slum Doctors on air for students to hear.

A) An efficient way of having a club host an event would be to have one person take on the responsibility of being in charge of the event. Although it could be stressful for that one person, it is the best route due to the fact that a miscommunication, forgotten necessity, or other mishap of having multiple people working on one thing, will be avoided. Although she is not the president, Stephanie is the founder of the WWU Weight Lifting Club. Stephanie also hosts and puts together fund raisers and takes care of the funding for events such as the WWU Strongman competition. Like the Cycling club, leadership in these clubs is crucial in making it run smoothly and host events well and in an organized fashion. This is mostly due to the fact that their officers are so active in their club by cycling in groups and participating in racing events.

Co-hosting events is a great way to bring new people into clubs. Similar to the way a collaboration with KUGS can benefit the Slum Doctors Club, a collaboration between the clubs that are based on performance can boost interest in the performance based clubs. Co-hosting an event such as a performance festival can provide the opportunity for all the performance based clubs such as the Dead Parrots Society, the Tango Club, and the A'cappella Club, to name a few, to showcase their talents in an event that would grab a larger audience because of the collaboration between the groups and because of the nature of the event as a larger event that involves many aspects of performance from the various groups involved. In these ways, co-hosting events can benefit organizations that might be lacking recruitment opportunities.

Place of event

There are many places on Western Washington University's campus that are good to host events. However, many clubs try to narrow it down to the most populated areas to attract attention. This is good for events such as fundraisers or for recruiting. The best place by far to recruit members is on red square, where students cross paths with many information booths. As far as fund raising, a popular place to host fundraisers would be on vendor's row if clubs are selling edible goods. The best places to host events on campus are probably the most convenient places for students such as red square, vendor's row and the Viking union. As far as hosting big events, Viking union offers many rooms that can be reserved for events.

A)The place where a club hosts an event can help and hurt the event. By holding the event in a public area where people who pass by can view the activities and become interested is a big part of deciding where to hold an event. The croquet club has done a very good job at placing their tournaments in plain sight where people can become interested and join in if they would like. For the most part the croquet club holds their tournaments in the front lawn of Old Main. By having their event places there they get many people who stop and ask questions and gain knowledge about the club and its cause, in turn gaining new members.

The AS productions group relies a lot on the availability of the places they host the events. The events that AS Productions put on can normally draw a lot of people depending upon the artist, movie, or other production taking place. Organization and being able to place the event in a place in which it can be easily attended. Not only does the place of the event matter but also the place in which the AS productions puts their advertisements, they want to put them in a place in which the most possible people will be able to see them. Many of AS Productions events require tickets that must be purchased before hand, unlike many other events such as the WWU Bodybuilding which can be placed right in the middle of red square and everybody, even passerby's, may attend.

The Students Against Civilization held their meetings in a classroom in Fairhaven, and as a result there was no place to sit except the ground, which i'm sure discouraged many students from returning to the next meeting. The only activity available was to sit and discuss all the ways in which civilization sucks, with no ideas on what to do about it. That, I fear, was the greatest failure of the group. They lacked structure and organization, or even a well-formed idea of how to proceed. While the group received encouragement from those present at meetings, they never worked to make it what it could have been; an intelligent discussion of just what the next 50 years are going to be like here in America and innovative ideas of how to prepare yourself and your community.

The importance of an appropriate place for events can influence the attendance a great deal. If the hosting club of the event is only seasonal, many people may not be exposed to the club throughout the year. The cycling club has difficulty hosting event year round. Seasonal events will effect recruitment as well as financial help. Clubs like the strong man club have more access to indoor and outdoor events.

The idea of event placement is to draw the biggest crowd possible by attracting as many passers-by possible. It helps if the event is in a wide open area that many people walk by regularly. It also helps if the event is in an area where sound travels easily so that the event is easily notice. Also if the place is easily accessible by bus or on campus makes it easier for students to attend. Much how the croquet club would hold events in front of Old Main, the WWU Bodybuilding Club held their WWU Strongest Man Competition out on Western's Track. The track was an excellent location because it allowed them to draw in everyone making their way too and from the Rec or parking lot. The event was able to be seen and heard from a long ways away which led to a large crowd and a successful event.

Sexploration is a club on Western Washington University campus that depends on privacy and confidentiality. In order to achieve this, the leaders must use a location with no interference during meetings and events. In order to hold the meetings in a safe environment, that is needed for the discussion of such taboo topics such as 'better sex' and 'casual sex'. These locations are usually a classroom or a meeting room in the Viking Union. These rooms are reserved and the doors are closed during a meeting in order to insure privacy and creating a comfortable environment to discuss sex. For Sexploration the place of the event is key to the success of their organization.

The Croquet Club has been able to host many events directly on the Western Washington Campus. This is an easy way to promote the club to by-standers. Such themed events like Alice and Wonderland and St. Valentines Love have been some of the major tournaments this year. Unfortunately, clubs like the KSA have been unable to host any events for the last two semesters because of lack of support. But by end of they were able to organize two different events. One event was inviting a speaker who could explain about Korean culture. It was hosted in the regular meeting room at Miller Hall. Another event was Barbecue party at the Barbecue place in Birnamwood Apartment. Both of them were open to everyone who was interested to share the time and learn about Korean culture. Places for both events were not bad choices for club members to share their enjoyment. However, it was neither well advertised to other members nor get other people’s attention about the held events.

The Campus Christian Fellowship (CCF) meets in a very convenient place for most students. The place of their events are typically in Bellingham, and if traveling is needed, then transportation is provided. The weekly services that are led by CCF are in Arntzen Hall 100. This is on the south end of the WWU campus. What this means is that most students can walk to the event and not have to worry about finding a ride to and from the service like one does on a Sunday morning. Related to the place of the event, I think another important topic is the time of the event. You do not want an event that conflicts with a lot of people. So what CCF has done, is they have established a time (7pm-9pm) on Friday nights where students plan their Friday night events around the service. With a time from 7-9 and a close location for most, CCF is able to keep the attendance at this event very high. That alone has helped to club succeed. CCF does not have the struggle of, if 15 people do not show up, then the event is not worth continuing for that session. Other smaller groups like the A'Capella group for example, really have to count on all participants coming to each meeting. The meeting place for groups like those is even more significant because it has to accommodate everybody, not just majority of the people.

The key to many successful events really is location, location, location. There may be some other factors that come into play, but deciding when and where to hold an event is vital. Depending on the type of group event, locations will vary, but their importance will stay the same.

Advertising Events

Effective advertising is crucial for promoting club events. A variety of advertising methods are utilized, from print ads in the school newspaper to hand-made pamphlets and fliers. Social networking websites such as Facebook and Myspace allow club members to spread the word about upcoming events quickly and efficiently. Advertisements get the word out to fellow students and inspire potential club members.

The Sexplorations club communicates through Facebook mostly and uses posters throughout campus to advertise their meetings. This has been a good method for them to get a turnout at their meetings. The leader sends out an invitation through Facebook to all her friends asking them to attend club events. posters are another effective way to advertise a safe place for young ladies and men to talk about their sexual life.the club also uses attractive names for events such as Multi-Gender Sexploration: Secret Share

Advertising for KUGS reaches thousands of people. KUGS is involved in many on campus events, which draws the attention of many students. Also KUGS can be played on Comcast channel 980, as well as a webcast, so they reach listeners around the world. KUGS has special events such as Music for the masses, which is a great way for them to advertise. The fan base that KUGS has established is another great way for them to advertise, because the more people who play their station the more people who will listen, and this leads to more people knowing about them and becoming dedicated listeners. The KUGS homepage is also a good way to advertise because it is found on the WWU website, which students use daily.

The Strong Men club knows how important advertising is to the success of their events. Some of their most effective means of advertising come from resources that are available to all students on campus. They are able to print out free flyers for their events in the Viking Union. They can then post these fliers in busy areas on campus to attract more people to their events. One example of a group that failed to advertise well is the Cycling Team. They had to cancel the triathlon that they were hosting because of inadequate advertising. Without enough advertising a club's event simply won't be successful. It is very important to use the resources that are available to all of us on campus.

The Harry Potter club posts events on Facebook but also creates flyers and posters for larger events (such as the Yule Ball). These posters are usually in very public places like the VU or bulletin boards in various buildings and dorms. However, the flyers are often placed in more creative ways. Members of the club are given a handful of flyers and allowed to post them all over public sights but they also hide them or leave them in interesting spots. They could be left on a desk in the library or classroom and even on shelves in the library creating curiosity to anyone who sees the flyers. They also advertise events, at the Red Square information fair. This is where a large number of people see the events that are going to be going on in the club. The Red Square info. fair is one of the biggest ways that the Harry Potter Club advertises for events that are going on, or being hosted by the club.

Associated Student Productions relies on advertising for everything. They put up several posters throughout campus as well as also posting Facebook events. In doing this many students hear about the events and the word gets around. However, this is not the only way ASP gets the students attention. They also have people who dress up for the occasion of the event and stand in Red Square, which is where most of the heavy school traffic is, and promote the event by handing out flyers. Another thing that is great that the organization does is sent out text messages to those who would like information on upcoming events. All of these tactics help ASP in getting students to be notified and attend their events.

Western’s own radio station, KUGS is known for its diverse music and its constant goal to meet its listener’s preferences. This organization is all about music, so it is easy for them to put on events without taking drastic measures to publicize the event. Their approach is simple; blast music from any place on campus, recruit student who know what their demographic likes, and wait for students to follow the noise. As more and more students are lured by the music, the station finds an easy way to promote their radio station and at the same time talks to students in order to find out what kind of music they like and what will please the Western student body. Other clubs such as the Pacific Islander Club, hold large gatherings. The Pacific Islander Club just had a big event but students had to pay a rather large fee to attend. KUGS’ events are different in that playing music is rather inexpensive so outreaching to the student body is easy and free!

Type of event

Clubs at Western are diverse both in their specific interests as well as their activity choices. You are bound to find something to spark your interest from the numerous clubs on campus whether it be dancing, outdoor adventuring or just meeting to sit and talk with others. The types of events are important to support diversity here and to offer something for everyone. It really is up to the students; the events and activities put on in clubs are for the most part our choices. So, keep your eyes out for signs, flyers, word of mouth and just about any other form of communication and find that something that catches your eye! Maybe take a read through this section as well for an idea of all that campus clubs have to offer in ways of events.

A strength STAND has is having different types of events. They host between 4 and 6 events a year and they make it a weeklong event. They show movies, they have discussions and bring in guest speakers; they do as much as they can to get the word out about their statement and what they want Western to know. As well the club LEAD, it does a great job on types of events. They interviewed Marie and she said they have about 3 work parties a weekend, in different places, to clean up around Bellingham and it’s not just for WWU students its open to the public as well. Most of LEAD’s work parties are full so they get a lot of cleaning up of the environment done every time.

The Women in the Woods group hold many different events. They usually plan outdoor excursions like hiking, skiing, snowshoeing and many other things. The purpose is to get outside and to meet new people. They also hold events like showing movies which they feel can be beneficial to understanding the outdoors. Big or small these events are opportunities breath in the fresh air and gain a better appreciation for mother nature.

A. The WWU cycling team tries to host Sporting events on campus. Other clubs such as the Bodybuilding Club do the same however the Cycling team races all over campus. This is their most common event however they occasionally must hold fundraising events to finance their activities. The club can race all over Bellingham and at various meets and invitationals. These meets can have many teams competing at a large gathering of other cycling teams.

The Planned Parenthood club hosts several of creative events around campus and the community. Some examples include "Free Condom Friday" which is when they pass out condoms at a table on campus and also "Thirsty Thursday" where they pass out condoms outside the bars when people are drunk or are drinking and could be ready to have sex. They also participate in several events around the community where they pass out free condoms and information about testing for STIs. Basically, they are getting the word around in the most effective and creative ways.

It is possible to run into problems promoting positivity with subjects that are sad and deal with others suffering. The Slum Doctors Program Club here on campus counteracts this problem with events that incorporate a relaxed and informative environment in which movie watchers can be educated and understand gravity of human rights issues around the globe while simultaneously offering a constructive environment in which to offer each persons in attendance help.

Sports clubs have the advantage of being able to host tournaments. The SMASH club hosts several Super Smash Bros. tournaments each year in an attempt to recruit new members. Also, Smash is popular enough that other organizations host events that involve Smash tournaments. For example, Ridgeway has hosted several parties this year that included video game tournaments. The leaders of the SMASH club take on the responsibility of attending these related events to recruit more members. Any sports club can use tournament events to add excitement to their club and recruit new members. The Croquet club has also hosted tournaments, but most of the student population was not even aware of the tournament. In order to have successful tournaments and recruit a lot of new members, a sports club needs to heavily promote its event all around campus.

Sexploration is focused mainly on hosting one type of event; meetings. Although they occasionally host larger group gatherings. Meetings consist of statement of the club creed/mantra where leaders (two of them) explain the point on the club and the idea that within the club there is a safe space that guarantees no one discusses what was said in the meeting outside of the meeting. The meetings are fairly informal aside from the initial tradition of stating the creed, they then restate the topic for the week and let people discuss. Generally the leaders of the club have a "hands off" approach and like to let people attending the meeting, aside from themselves contribute. However, they will contribute comments if there is a lull in conversation. In addition, they emphasize contributions from everyone at the meeting, and not too much from one particular person. It can be compared to STAND in that Sexploration hosts discussions for their meetings, however while Sexploration has one particular kind of event and that alone, STAND hosts a variety of events such as movie viewings. In addition, the two can be compared in that they both have specific kinds of statements of purpose that are explicitly stated.

The Yes! Club strives to promote a positive environment by promoting a stress-free and violence-free environment. They encourage this by offering events like free yoga and meditation to the Western Washington University community. Another pillar of the Yes! Club is spreading happiness and acceptance. The club also organizes this type of display on campus. This can be seen through Yes! Club students walking through Red Square with "free hugs" signs, where they hug and high-five students walking through campus. This type of direct interaction is similar to the Planned Parenthood Club, which also spreads awareness and information about their club throughout Red Square. Western's Yes! Club is part of the Yes! Clubs that are at many universities all throughout the nation, so while the events may differ from school to school, the principles on which the club was founded on are very similar.

The Student for Optional Clothing Club, attending events are mainly what the club does, since there are not really meetings per se for this club. Therefore, they show their pride by attending events, such as the naked bike ride in Seattle, WA. Meetings and events for this group are challenging because of the difficulty in finding locations where being naked is okay, however in most places, it is looked down upon. When events, such as the naked bike ride, arise, the group takes no chances in passing them up since opportunities are narrow. This club researches for events, as well as several meetings with a non-university related nudist group, once in a while. These events and meetings give the group time to feel free and show their spirit.

A. While not as...strange....as the Students for Optional Clothing Club; The Dead Parrots Society, despite seeming like just an improv comedy group, has many different types of shows. The inherent flexibility in improv makes it quite easy to make many different types of shows, based on what type of comedy the group wants to do at each performance. Game shows, story-telling, etc. - The Dead Parrots Society has almost limitless ways that they can organize a show, making it a very good choice as a comedy-style group for students to join or participate in, whether as audience members or as members of the comedy troupe.

Throughout the year, the Harry Potter club has many events but only one large one (the Yule Ball). Anyone is welcome at the events which usually happen around other holidays or important dates regarding Harry Potter movies and books. Events include: • Sir Nicolas’s Death Day Party • Slughorn’s Christmas Party • The Yule Ball • Lockhart’s Valentine’s Day Party • Movie Nights • Quidditch

Just like the Harry Potter club, the rugby club hosts a few special events throughout the year in order to make the club popular within the western community. They host these events in order to find new recruits and build a fan base. By attending the annual club days in red square, the rugby team is able to attract and to encourage new people to explore a different and obscure sport. This method has worked well historically but current members of the group have expressed concern about its continued effectiveness. The rugby team also hosts an event with the alumni of the team to fund raise and keep in touch with the team's roots. This event is called alumni weekend. It consists of an alumni golfing tournament where the current players caddy for the alumni, and an alumni game. The alumni game is one in which the current players on the team play a 'friendly match' against the 'Old Boys,' or the alumni. This game attracts a lot of support from the friends, family and players that have at some time been involved with the organization. Since the referee in this game is an alumni himself, it usually turns out well for the old boys. In addition to these alumni games, the club sometimes organize tournaments to play against other teams in the region(usually happen during summer).

A. The Western Strong Man Club has used an unorthodox method of fundraising. They sold "Jell-O Shots" at a party off campus. They realize the legality of the issue and said that they did feel guilty about it. It did, however, make them a fairly large amount of money and the method has funded them quite well throughout this year. They found a niche for fundraising that no one else has and it has been very effective because of this. Being well connected with students and knowing what is in demand has helped them become successful.

The WWU Body Building and Strong Man club hosted the first strong man competition on Saturday, May 30, 2009. The event was held on the University Campus Track and Field. Awards were handed out to the strongest men in both the light-weight and the heavy-weight categories. The event was free to attend and it generated a large and intrigued crowd! Everyone had a great time and the club will most likely hold another competition in the near future.

Average number of people at events

In an interview with Brittany Smith from the ASP Popular Music office one of the strengths was keeping the attendance at their events high despite the struggling economy. By providing subsidized costs to students and making sure they program a diverse range of events ASP is able to draw on the passion of our students for different events. Along with Pop Music selling out most of its shows this year, ASP Special events also sold out Western’s Main Stage with Sue Johansen, and Civil controversies maxed out their capacity with their event on Politics and the Economy at the start of the year. This strategy of targeting very passionate needs on campus is also seen in the Tango club. In Laurie Yearout’s interview with one of their members, they also found that students are willing to pay for events if they are very passionate about them. This excellence in keeping numbers high is reflected in ASP Popular Music’s recent award for “Event of the Year” at the annual End of the Year banquet hosted in Western’s VU Multi purpose room.

When I interviewed Linsdey Delaney who is a senior member of the Submarine team at Western Washington, I found that one of the things the club lacked in the most was keeping a consistent number of people attending the club. Based off what Delaney told us it seemed there was a very few number of people attended the club. She explained that it was difficult to organize meetings because of the fact that there were so few members. I suggest that to improve the average number of people that attend the group meetings they should get the word out that the submarine team even exists at western. I find it to be a very interesting club. Just the fact that being apart of the club gives you access to the engineering department at the school. It would be very interesting to use all the tools there and have the knowledge to understand how the tools work and be able to use them. The club its self just needs a way to increase the number of members in the club so the average number of people attending the meetings go up.

When I first attended a meeting with some of the other members in our group to the sexploration club, I noticed that there were not many girls already attending the meeting. This may be due to the fact that it was the first sexploration meeting of the quarter, or simply because of the fact that the level of advertisement for that particular meeting was lacking compared to others. However, there were a few members there (about 4) who were interested in joining a discussion on sexploration. Sadly, the leader of the group decided not to hold the meeting, as a result of the low number of active participants. These girls that were once excited to contribute were now disappointed and discouraged to come to other meetings that may have just as well not occurred as this one did. However, the leader was unaware of the fact that some of the members did want to contribute regardless of the number of participants present and therefore should not be blamed in any way for this incident. On the other hand, I feel that an effective way to go about organizing and presenting a club is to fulfill the activities that are planned, including meetings. I know that the salsa club still holds meetings, even if there are not enough participants to make up one of their levels (intermediate, beginning, advanced) and they still hold the activity by incorporating one of these into another level if there are not enough participants. Therefore, one effective strategy for club organization is being very strict about fulfilling the activities you plan, as to create loyalty and trust in your members and participants.

The croquet club has a interesting situation in terms of number of members, there can be too many people at a meeting based on how much equipment is there. This is very different than talk based clubs, like sexploration, where there is no equipment necessary. In an interview Devin said the regular amount of people was between 10 and 20. The way they work this out is, Devin, the president of the club, sends text messages and sends out a Facebook invite to current members instead of putting up posters. This method works well for their situation because it gives the leaders of the group a good ballpark number to how many people are coming. The problem with poster invitations is that you can't know the number of people coming to the event. Knowing the number of people coming to your event allows for the organization to provide the correct amount of resources. Resources can consist of equipment of snacks, both of which there can be too much and too little of.

Volunteer Opportunities

In many cases events can't be entirely managed by the organization that hosts them. By volunteering to help at these organization events it gives people the opportunity to support organizations that they appreciate and are interested in without committing to a long term engagement. Some organizations regularly ask for volunteers, such as non-profit aid organizations. Others may just need a hand here and there while hosting events. These volunteers are an important link between the organization and the rest of the community. Volunteering can be done on both the group level and the individual level. An example of people volunteering together is a church group that builds houses in Mexico. One does not need to volunteer with other people however. There is plenty that an individual can do to help.

Individual

Effectively organizing volunteer opportunities for individuals to partake in is an important skill for clubs to develop in order to be effective student organizations. One club that is very successful at organizing volunteer opportunities for individuals is the environmental group LEAD. They accomplish this through various means of advertising, including their organized and efficient website that individuals can use to view information about the club, view volunteer event opportunities, found out when and where the volunteer events will take place, and register for volunteer events. Les Kaahaaina discusses this organized and efficient website when she stated that "another asset is their ability to efficiently sign up volunteers through their website" and Connor Roberts echoes this fact by stating that "they [LEAD] seem to have a very efficient working system." Although none of the other clubs listed use their website to aid individuals in volunteering, clubs such as Sexploration and Slum Doctor Program could greatly benefit from this skill employed by LEAD because they need more volunteers. To sum, LEAD's use of an efficient and organized website to recruit individuals who want to volunteer is a very important skill that many other clubs could greatly benefit from learning about.

I think that is very important for people to find a way to give back to their community through a volunteer project. You are lending a helping hand to people and organizations. There are benefits that you gain as an individual, opening yourself to learn something new. Volunteering opens doors to new friends, recommendations for future employment and college applications, developing marketable job skills, and even increasing your self-confidence. Despite these personal reasons you will gain, others impacted by your choice will gain more than what you will gain yourself. A couple things I have done is volunteer with the LEAD organization on Earth day. Not knowing anybody, I marched down to Franklin park with a group of people to pull weeds and non-native plants in order to restore the beauty in the park and allow it to be enjoyed by the community residents. This park was once losing its beauty and value but as more people decided to help and lend some of their time; it has now gained pathways for kids to enjoy exploring. Another thing I have done is volunteer computer skills to middle school students at home. I would come in and help them compile their yearbook using Adobe PageMaker and InDesign. Not only did I gain an opportunity to keep using these skills but I also gained an opportunity to build relationships with these younger students and am still able to give them advice and guidance when they need it. Volunteering motivates others to take a step out of the box and realize that helping those less fortunate or in need can impact not only them, but yourself, the community, the future.

Students for Disability Awareness

Recruitment of "full-time" SDA members may be low- about 11- but the club continues to be successful through the effective use of volunteers. The SDA club hosts events such as "Disability Awareness Week" at Western, which brings in speakers from around the country and hosts events for everyone to participate in. The club has also recently sent a student to Taipei, Taiwan to compete in the Deaflympics by fund-raising about $300 for the student's travel expenses. While none of the events and fund-raising happen if it weren't for the dedicated members of the SDA group, those same events would not be possible if not for volunteers; simply because of the shear size of the activities that the SDA creates and hosts.

Vice President and Co-founder of SDA Brittany Otter said during the "Disability Awareness Week," the club recruited over 60 volunteers to help coordinate the events; this included students from the Ally Building Network and the Western Leadership Advantage class. This successful recruitment of volunteers seems to be the opposite of what most clubs are currently experiencing while trying to get help for events and accomplishing goals; such as the Student Homeless Outreach Program, which only has four members and, according to Meagan Acdal, "spends the entire quarter preparing for [one event]."

Otter said the SDA club has approximately 200 people on its email service, who are notified about upcoming events and what they can do to contribute. As stated on the SDA website www.wwusda.org, volunteers help out the club by creating posters, setting up booths and stages, handing out fliers and greeting people. This combination of dedication and effective use of volunteers has the SDA club geared toward its mission of spreading awareness and to educate the WWU community about the disability culture.

Also contributing to the strong volunteer turnout was the SDA club's involvement with local disability support services such as Access Living Inc. In doing so the SDA club was able to recruit support staff experienced in advocating and supporting those living with disabilities. This relationship also helped to involve others living with disabilities in the events and activities of Disability Awareness Week. Clients receiving support services from Access Living Inc. participated in the art contest, the wheelchair races and were able to attend the comedy act performed by Josh Blue. Some of Access Livings disabled clients volunteered in support of the events as well.

Reason For Events

Events are hosted by clubs for a myriad of reasons- whether it be to educate, promote awareness, raise money, or even just for run and enjoyment. Reasons for hosting events usually vary based on the club's purpose. For example, ethnic student clubs may be more likely to put on events that share their culture, where as clubs devoted to a cause such as Men Against Violence or Students Against Civilization Club may host an event to educate or create awareness. Whatever the reason is for hosting, the main point is to unite people for understand different perspectives on different topics.

Recognition

It is possible to use an event as a launching point for your club or organization. For example, the club "Against Civilization" at Western Washington University was not well-known when the leaders brought a famous environmental issues author to speak at the campus. This event promoted the club and made the Western community more aware of them. If you publicize an event well, and it is memorable, people will not only recognize that your organization exists, but what the purpose is and what they are capable of. Whether you have a great turnout or not, the people in attendance will already have some kind of interest in order to attend. You can use this as a recruiting tactic, or go the less aggressive route by simply letting the community know that such a club is available.

Educational Events

For the Students Against Civilization Club, educational events are the most necessary and important events to host, and it is these events that have led to the relative success of this organization. Although these events are not necessarily highly attended, new members can only be recruited when the motivations for this club's existence can be explained in full - most students might not recognize at once why one would have a problem with the general idea of civilization. Predominantly educational events become a necessity in clubs such as this (others include World injustice awareness, Coalition for immigration rights, STAND, etc.) when substantial background knowledge and context is required to appreciate the aims of said organization. The real trick is to effectively engage your audience while still conveying your crucial points - lecturing at potential members can only take you so far. Multi-media presentations, such as film strips, documentaries, and slideshows, usually serve as a good centerpiece/main attraction for an educational event. Guest speakers whose topics are pertinent to your organization are also a valuable resource, and are usually in abundance in a college environment.

Like the Students Against Civilization Club, the Students of Optional Clothing club occasionally hosts educational events involving documentaries and film strips. They hosted an event where they showed a documentary on the World Naked Bike Ride in London. This video was particularly relevant to new and unfamiliar club members because it helped put public nudity in perspective. The documentary showed how public nudism could be used as a form of protest because of the attention it draws, it also explained how it was easier to be naked in public when others are doing it with you. After the video, the club had a brief discussion about the documentary and how it was relevant to the club. Film presentations combined with discussion can be very helpful in better understanding a group and their practices.

The main goal of the club STAND is to open people's eyes to genocide. STAND hosts four to six major events per year. Events like their movie night about rape attract about 15 to 20 people but their larger events, like those held in the open part of the university outside, attracts hundreds of people who want to learn more about genocide. The club brings in guest speakers and shows movies as well. Their biggest event is called "Week in Genocide" where every day there are tents and stands outside in the university square that not only discusses genocide, but shows pictures and documents from past and current genocides to students who are passing through. Every day of the week during "Week in Genocide," an event is held like watching a movie or documentary about genocide or bringing in a guest speaker. This group is very successful in using these types of events to spread the message about genocide.

Cultural Sharing

Being a student on a college campus is a unique experience for many reasons. However, many people would say that they were exposed to a vast number of unique people and cultures that they had not been exposed to prior attending college. Western's long list of AS activities and clubs enhance the culture experience and create rich diversity. Without the clubs and events that take place on campus daily, culture would not be felt, sought after or shared.

As a club dedicated to the sharing, learning, and appreciation of a certain culture, FASA's (Filipino American Student Association) strength is in planning and hosting events. FASA holds many successful events to celebrate their culture by showcasing its members' talents, presenting traditional Filipino dances, offering authentic Filipino food, etc. This year, FASA had two main events- the annual Heritage dinner (held Fall Quarter) and the first Annual Pilipino Culture Night (held Spring Quarter). When holding a cultural sharing event, FASA likes to reach out to the Western community as well as the larger Bellingham community. Jazz Allen Espiritu, FASA's current Budget Authority, mentioned in an interview that “With Heritage Dinner we were able to invite the whole university to a culture sharing event that was fun and entertaining for anyone who went. It was a time to learn and a time to enjoy friends and family which is universal to everyone regardless of ethnicity.” FASA, like any other cultural club, must put effort into reaching out to others for events like these in order to get the club recognized as an organization open to diverse people, and not just people of Filipino backgrounds. The events held by FASA, as well as the club itself, is similar in effective organization to the Hui O' Hawaii club and the events they host, such as the annual Luau. Both clubs are culturally based and even share mutual members.

A) One are where the Jewish Hillel Club succeeds greatly is by creating a place where students who share a common cultural background can come together and strengthen those common ties and create friendships. Sarah Rasmus, the Vice President of the Hillel Club during the 2008-2009 school year, explained that the clubs goal was to "create a safe environment for Jewish students on campus to express themselves as individuals." Some of activities the group does together are hosting dinners on campus, getting together for movie nights, and playing games that strengthen their cultural ties, such as "Jewpardy." They try to get a Jewish member from the Bellingham community to host a dinner for the club as often as possible as well. One aspect Rasmus likes about the club is that it is "a safe environment to meet other Jewish students and practice and explore Judaism on their own terms." The group informs its members of upcoming events through their Facebook page, something that will undoubtedly become more popular among campus clubs. The Harry Potter club also succeeds in creating friendships within their group. Some of the way their group gets together is by hosting concerts with wizard bands, playing quidditch, and by hosting a Yule Ball.

What consistently keeps the alumni weekend happening year after year is not the amount of money that the Western rugby team generates, not much according to many members, but because of the shared cultural experience that the different generations get to share and pass on. Brian Jensen, next year's club president, is very enthusiastic about this cultural sharing: "This year's alumni weekend was fun because the alumni make it that way. After I graduate, I will continue to come back every year because of how much I enjoyed the stories, the people and the game." Parties might not be considered an official club gathering condoned by the Student Body, but members of the team thought that these gatherings were probably one of the most effective ways to create camaraderie and a better team dynamic.

Fun

The amount of fun that can be predicted from an event can be influenced by many factors. Amount of preparation, good attendance, activities offered and weather can all be factors that play into the success of a fun event.

Hui O' Hawaii, a Hawaiian cultural club on campus, was most effective in their ability to host events. Like Slum Doctors Program, Hui O' Hawaii had a mix of events and awareness. Essentially, the events that they hosted were intended to allow people to enjoy themselves and tangentially learn at the same time. Their events consisted of Luaus so there were lots of great dancing and delicious food. However, they were more than just a good time. The Luaus also served to spread awareness about Hawaiian culture. Their goal is to give people a feel for the culture and to hopefully enjoy it. This was intended as a way of raising awareness about the cultural practices of Hawaii in a light and respectful manner.

Many of the Hui O' Hawaii club's events are not always made public. However the group themselves are always usually putting on their own private events, such as going to Kathy's Kitchen in Seattle just to eat homemade Hawaiian food. During an interview the club agreed as a whole that their best times are when they are eating Hawaiian foods. Some of their public events are offering Luau dancing lessons at the local YMCA and putting on an annual Luau at WWU. Lessons offered at YMCA give the public, who may not know of the club on campus, an opportunity to learn a little bit more about Hawaiian culture and their ritual dancing steps. The Luau is their greatest event and is effectively advertised for weeks before its actual occurrence. They sell Hawaiian merchandise, serve Hawaiian food and put on dances for the audience. Natives from Hawaii are also there to participate and help the club members.

The Croquet Club, like The SMASH club, hosts fun events with different rules to spice up every event they have. They do this to create a completive environment, so that everyone has a fun time. They play games on different tournaments and the winners are awarded points for whatever place they come in. The person with the most points at the end of the tournament gets a prize. They set up different rules when playing in teams rather than when they play a singles, nonetheless they make their own rules. Sometimes they make the brackets a portal to another bracket across the field, or they play bonus brackets on special occasions. On Halloween they played if you hit the croquet ball through two pumpkins, you would be awarded bonus points. They spice things up to keep the game fresh and to keep it away from the stereotype of being a "grandma's game".

The South Asian Students Association club tries to host one big event, and several smaller fun events. Last year, they hosted a large event to show the different dances, music, and cultures of the south Asian world. This event is open to the whole campus and other people from different schools are encouraged to attend as well. Along with this event, the club tries to host a couple of get-togethers. A member (usually an officer), hosts a party at their house, where members are allowed to attend and bring their friends. There have been bowling and dinner nights in the past too. In the future, the SASA club definitely wants to continue this tradition of having smaller events at someone's house so it can lead to a more comfortable and relaxed environment where people can get to know each other and just have fun doing something other than school.

The Harry Potter Club's events are similar to the South Asian Students Association club in the idea of one main event, and then several smaller ones. First, they host their Yule Ball every year, to which around 300 people attended this year. They also hold events such as Quidditch matches on the Old Main field every weekend or so. Both these events and their booth at the fall quarter info fair I believe is a good way to get there name out there more and more. Perhaps is they have another event like the Yule Ball, or hold one more often, say once a quarter, they could influence growth and the students on campus may have a stronger connection and awareness on campus

The Planned Parenthood VOX Club hosts meetings every Wednesday night in Viking Union. Although these meetings are very informative and helpful, Kelsey (the club's coordinator) also knows that the only way to appeal to everyone and to hold strong membership is to keep the meetings fun also. The way this is organized in the meetings is by keeping a laid back and comfortable attitude during the meeting discussions. For example, in the meeting my group attended, we found that they were not afraid to make funny jokes and talk about sexual topics (relating to healthy decisions) at all and this made the meeting fun and interesting. It was so entertaining and energetic, that you could really see that the people had a passion for the cause and time flew by while they were doing it. It seemed more like a bunch of friends hanging out rather than doing some work, while still getting things done. This "fun" attempt is also shown my The Scottish Country Dancing Club and The Hui O' Hawaii club, where they include dancing and games in their meetings and events to appeal to the community and members of the group so they not only learn but have a great time. Keeping the club's meetings fun and entertaining is a very important strategy in maintaining an effective club.

The Students of Optional Clothing's official goals are to "provide a positive, safe and nonsexual environment for addressing and investigating the cultural and somatic roles of clothing, create a community supportive of personal choice of dress (or lack of dress), and become comfortable with our natural forms and improve body image." However, a large part of ensuring those goals are met is ensuring that club activities are fun. Making events 'fun' is especially important considering the unconventional nature of the club. New members may feel awkward or self-conscious about dressing down - humor is an important tool in lessening members' nervousness. Like the Planned Parenthood VOX club, SOC's leaders ensure that club activities are laid back and use their humor to connect with interested people. SOC has found that doing silly things like playing board games naked can make new members feel more comfortable. They also recently organized a "Naked Hoe-down," an all-night-long event with live music. Not only is this concept also a little silly, but it sounds a lot more fun and interesting then just sitting around being naked, and the near-guarantee of some ridiculous situations is almost relieving. Since SOC must be creative when it comes to figuring out what kinds of events to plan (conventional "naked activities," like skinny dipping, are difficult to organize as public nudity is generally illegal), this accomplishment is critical.

The Associated Student Productions were responsible for a wide variety of events among campus. They host events such as films, concerts featuring local and well-known bands, open mic nights, and even lectures featuring controversial issues and many guest speakers. The most interesting and energetic of the ASP offices is the special event programs. Striving to bring delight and unity among the Western community, they feature anything from rap concerts and hydraulic car shows. Some other events of the past include Cirque de Flame (fire circus), the Ralph-Nader lecture, and visits from Ice-T, The Shins, and Techni9e. Successful at hosting events, the Associated Student Productions strives to bring entertainment to Western Washington University. Like the KUGS was Western Sound Federation, KUGS-FM mission is to serve the students of WWU in Bellingham, WA by providing a diverse program of music and information consistent with student interests. They are also staffed by students and consist of community volunteers. They serve as a bridge from the University and the surrounding community. One way that these programs stay effective is through organizational skills. Organizational skills are important when it comes to utilizing them in everyday life and especially in events that require the benefit of more than just oneself. One effective organizational strategy is one of a visual concept. Checklists ensure that all steps or procedures are followed in plain view. By utilizing organizers whether they be graphic organizers, checklists, subtitles, outlines etc. you are breaking down all the items that are to be included in assignments and provide goals be reached and ensure that checkpoints are in place. Agendas assist in keeping in place everything that needs to get done in a timely manner so that thoughts are not all jumbled up and things forgotten. You can see the way that this is utilized by these programs through their websites in which they post all events ahead of time for others to view and know what is going on.

The Western Strong Man club does not have many fun events. The purpose of this club is more one of self-gratification. The fun of this club is the self gratification a person gets from betting his or hers self image. Unlike the Hui O' Hawaii club that hosts Luaus to have fun and raise awareness. The Western Strongmen do not hold many events but having the know how and ability to make oneself look and feel better along with better health and awareness.

The Associated Students and Ethnic Student Center Clubs strive to make clubs enjoyable and for anyone and everyone. By hosting events, competitions, contests, etc. students are able to come together outside the academic work environment to have fun and learn something new. The point is to expand beyond what we are used to and meet new people which is what college is about. If we didn't have the ESC and AS clubs it would be detrimental to college life as it would hinder our attempts to make new friends and broaden our horizons.

The Dead Parrots Society hosts and attends events such as festivals and competitions where they compete with other teams, or just simply to showcase what skills each parrot has and to make the audience laugh. In interviews, the members explained the importance of making the audience happy and how that makes them feel. Some parrots even find the audience reaction to be the best and most fulfilling aspect of the club. Although they can win awards and use these events to further their career as well as using it as experience for future acting/improvisation jobs, the festivals, because they are so low-key and fun the primary reason for them is to have a good time.

Promoting a Message

Against Civilization invited activist Derrick Jensen, shown here, to speak on campus.

Although Against Civilization's in group discussion can be broad and unfocused at times, they do have some main points that they wish to convey. Recently Against civilization paid to have Derrick Jensen ([1])to come speak at Western Washington University. While the event itself wasn't a leadership drive, every seat did have a brochure describing Against Civilization's views and had all of the contact and meeting info necessary for an interested person to get involved with the club. However, the focal point of the night wasn't the club, rather it was Derrick's radical message that Against Civilization's founding members are very much against. Being such a radical message, it was important that the event attracted people of like minds first and then presented them with a club that shares ideas second. By doing this Against Civilization has focused its recruitment methods, and at the same time promoted a message. While not promoting a message I think other clubs, for example the Harry Potter club, can use a tactic such as this to recruit members. While a Quidditch game or a Yule Ball might not promote a certain message, it would definitely bring people of the same interest together.

A very effective method in hosting events is for a group to create a lot of interest before the actual event so that more people will attend. This can be done with a little bit of enthusiasm from group members and with help from other groups. For a comparison, look at the Hawaiian Club whose members show tons of excitement in Red Square before holding a Luau or other get-together. By dressing up, waving signs, and talking in a friendly manner, they attract other students toward their project. The World Injustice Awareness Club effectively made people interested in their cause by dressing all in black in Red Square and talking about the School of Americas and about how many people have died due to the organization. For this event, the World Injustice Awareness Club got in touch with several other clubs on campus to garner further support and the substantial number of people they were able to gather made the event seem even more interesting to students passing by who then stopped to watch as members of the WIAC proceeded to the main point of their event: a "die in" in which the group members laid on the ground as if dead to represent the people killed by the School of the Americas. This dramatic touch to the event was very effective in giving the WIAC a victory in their cause by making people aware of the injustices occurring in the world. This event invited people to ask questions and learn more.

An effective organizational strategy that Women of the Wood’s uses is promoting a message. The club’s main goal is to involve women in outdoor activities and bring them together with other women, forming friendships. One of the events the club put on this quarter was a showing of a movie about women in Africa dealing with incontinence. While the movie didn’t directly relate to outdoor activities, it did a very good job of making all the girls feel united because you were able to see how poorly women were treated in other areas. The club also made t-shirts promoting their club, with some of the proceeds going to foundations helping women in Africa. The club also brings in women who are currently working in outdoor fields (a Mt. Rainer park ranger was one speaker this quarter) to promote outdoor activities and to also get women more excited about being outdoors. This is an effective organizational strategy because it gives the club more depth and shows that they are trying to make a difference. Another club that seems to do a very good job of promoting a message is Western’s Men Against Violence group. I’ve seen a lot of their advertising, in Red Square and through different fliers. The message they are promoting is such a strong one that it is a compelling issue for people to join. It’s very clear what the club is about as well.

Western Men Against Violence uses events like Walk a Mile in Her Shoes to involve students and community members and inform people about violence against women. Anyone who wants to is invited to march. Also they donate the money they raise from the event to the local women's shelter and this year they used the Boundary Bay Brewery as a place for people to congregate after the event, making the community more involved. Holding events like this is a very effective way of promoting the message that they are trying to spread. The group has also done bake sales and smaller events in the past.

As the president of the new AS Social Issue club on campus called the Student Coalition for Immigration Rights and our mission as is to bring awareness to the community about the struggles of U.S. immigrates through workshops. Our goal is to help them obtain a higher education and build a better future through the presentation of workshops and community involvement, and creating equal opportunities for all. All the member of Student Coalition for Immigration Rights has a common goal which is to bring awareness of undocumented students but to also move past awareness to taking action. All the members including myself have passion for our mission. However, this quarter we focused on creating workshops that we presented the last week of May for students, staff and Bellingham community. In this workshop we informed Western on students who want to pursued a higher education but cannot because they lack proper documentation. An example of this is if a student does not have a social security number they can’t apply for financial aid and therefore cannot get grants, loans, and often cannot get scholarships either. Even if undocumented students find a way to pay for college, without a social security number, they may not be able to get a job and this is creating and perpetuating a lower class of people that will never be able to move out of poverty. In our workshops, we addressed this and show that by supporting the D.R.E.A.M act, which allows undocumented students to obtain residency under certain requirements, thus they will be able further their education and have a chance to succeed and overcome barriers that they weren’t able to before. We also will focus on other undocumented individuals and provide workshops on how they can protect their rights. These workshops will acknowledge the voices that can’t be heard or can’t speak out.

A future struggle for S.C.I.R is whether things will be get done and accomplished. For this quarter it is that fact whether or not our workshops meet our deadlines. I believe they will if we all put in our teamwork and get our parts done. So far we have met one deadline which was the presentation for the Migrate Youth Conference which we got done and presented. It was kind of creamed but we were able to pull it off. A struggle that I fear is if we will get our events done for the deadlines and how they turn out. Something I have to remember from the interview I had with co-chairs for M.E.Ch.A. Mirella is that no matter how many people show up to the event you as a leader need to go with it all the way. And as Abraham said keeping your eyes on the goal no matter what and sometimes things fail but we learn from them. I am trying my best to be an effective leader but I am still learning. As a new club on campus we lack the knowledge of knowing how to run a club, especially in the funding for events, in particularly publicizing for the workshop we will be presenting. However, as a leader I will challenge myself to learn how to run a successful club by going to AS advisors and asking them for help or talking to Michel for the ESC for help on whom to turn too. Along with these terms I know all of the M.E.Ch.A. leaders and will ask for their guides. In the end we publicized as much as we knew through posters, fliers, and Facebook and we still go very few people. However, overall the workshops were successful by the fact that every audience that came learned something new which was reflected off their comments. However, I wish we could have gotten more people to show to our workshops. In the end we got all the posters for our presentations done and out on western campus but I wish we would have had it sooner. We will have to plan how to get more people to come for next year.

I believe our club is going to be successful even if we are new club on campus with less experience. Even at that we still have a strong support from M.E.Ch.A and have great recourse on campus of where to get help and if we use our resources wisely then we will make can make things happen. This summer I plan to get on step ahead for next year is creating an agenda which I will have other members helping me on it as well. We will be arranging an agenda of what we want to get done for next year and how we can make those goals happen. Another few things I wanted to add about S.C.I.R is we contact each other through email and we have a Facebook group. We plan to create a website of our club during the summer. I also added to our club’s mission after I had the interview with Abraham and Mirella, reaching to Middle and High School students in particularly those who are undocumented and encourage them to continue fighting for their education. I plan to introduce this to the club after our workshops here on campus. I will encourage S.C.I.R. members to present these workshops after finals to Middle and High School and try to make it a bit different by targeting students to continue their education whether documented or not. I am excited for this group and hope it makes a difference. I hope to let others voices be heard, but not only that we will be making changes to make sure their voices are heard through our workshops, supporting the Dream Act and through our club. We will continue to show promote awareness. Who knows maybe we will become a legacy. Where ever we end up I know we are making a difference.

Western Men Against Violence does do a great job of hosting events throughout the year. An example of that would be Walk a Mile in Her Shoes. This event is an annual march where men walk a mile in women’s shoes to stop sexual assault and rape. A lot of planning and advertising goes into walk a Mile in Her Shoes. WMAV creates posters through the campus’ publicity office to inform Western students. They begin this preparation about two months prior to the event. This event brings out a lot of male participants that are able to make a direct impact on the community. The club also raises money throughout the year to give to organizations inparticularly a local women's shelter. Another activity that a group member went into detail about was Take Back the Night. It is an all female activity where they walk down town at night. The men remain back at campus and hold a candlelight vigil. WMAV is a dedicated club that is willing to help other clubs.

Holiday

Holidays are a great excuse to host events because a lot of people have free time and are in search of something to do. Not only will this draw a lot of people, but holidays make it easy to advertise because instead of using the perks of the organization to lure people, the club can simply say "come celebrate the holiday season with us". This saying is universal, but virtually any club can use it to promote their own club. Another way to host holiday events is advertising holidays that are unique to a club. This will draw adventurous crowds and will ultimately benefit any club.

For the South Asian Student Association, and any cultural club in general, hosting events during unique cultural holidays is a great way to raise awareness, both for the club in question, as well as for the particular culture. Aside from that, holidays are a great reason to get group members together and add to the list of how members can relate to each other. A good example of this is the Luau put on by the Hui o Hawaii culture club, this event seems to be a hit year after year and is also a good means of recruitment. If these events want to be used as recruitment, early advertisement is recommended, if the event has enough to offer, and enough renown in the western community, it may even be possible for tickets to be sold to turn the event into a fund raiser. If it is not viable for a club to celebrate cultural holidays, unique cultural traditions can also be shared at westerns annual international night, such as the dance put on by SASA.

Hillel of WWU makes sure to conduct all of the major Jewish holiday events even during Western Washington University’s breaks, so that members are able to stay involved with their Jewish tradition away from home. Many members are unable to go home to their family synagogue for multiple reasons, but still want to participate in holidays they have grown up with. Hillel of WWU makes that possible, by conducting traditional events which are at either the local synagogue or at their WWU location. All of the proper ceremonies and possible dinners are performed, so that members can feel comfortable. The major holidays that they hold are Passover, Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, and Hanukkah. Rachel Rasmus, the Vice President of Hillel of WWU, jokes about the PYRH kids who only come for the holiday events, but for none of the other fun, social events that the group puts on. But that just shows that Hillel of WWU is a place for Jewish students to come and become more involved with Western and their religion. The Hui o Hawaii culture club also likes to put on Luau on every year for their members and for others to join, as a way of advertisement and a way for members to connect to their culture. Any type of activity that allows for the club to receive recognition from the rest of Western allows for students to hear of the club and possibly become involved as well. Hillel of WWU tries to promote their events and invite other to join so they are all able to experience the wonderful Jewish holiday events and become well known on campus.

Community Service

LEAD is a great AS group that has a large amount of people interested in their events. This is mainly because the nature of their "work parties" is so positive. Every event that they host cleans or promotes the environment, and many people want to take part in making their own community a more beautiful place to live. The fact that their events are services to the community not only attracts many people into taking part, but also helps with funding. Local businesses are very willing to donate money to an event that will make their local area a nicer place to live. The Men Against Violence have similar luck with events also because their events really are a benefit to the entire community. It seems for an event to go well not only do groups have to have some funding but there also needs to be a decent amount of people interested in the event, and a service to the community usually makes these two requirements easier to achieve.