Society Survival Guide
By: Angus Mancini-Miller
The first semester has almost come to an end. Some societies are planning a final holiday break event, but, regardless of how grand an end-of-semester event is, many societies will have less involvement/attendance than they had at the beginning of the year. Running a society can be hard work; for example, schoolwork can pile up, events can go awry, or potential members might decide they no longer want to participate. This guide will provide a few helpful tenets for a budding new society, an old society looking to spruce things up, as well as a well-established society, so you can keep the consistency rolling! The three important topics to ensure your society thrives are: Maintain Engagement and Participation, Have a Committed Executive Team, and Figure Out Their Niche.
Maintain Engagement and Participation
From my own experience as an executive member of the SMU Philosophy Society, I’ve noticed that in past years we have had trouble keeping members engaged. However, this year has been different—consistently, we have had large turnouts for our events. Many times, when we struggled to get a higher turnout, we would ask, “How do we get more people to show up?” Simply put, the answer is not to focus on the events themselves; rather, focus on what you do before and after your society events to really maintain engagement and participation.
Ensuring your members not only participate but also actively engage in your community is key. We saw an increase in attendance and participation once we started allowing non-executive members a greater say in our events through polls on Instagram or quarterly meetings centred on event planning and information. This keeps the non-executive members of the society from feeling like just people attending an event; instead, they feel like a part of the reason why the event is even happening. It makes them not only a familiar face to the executive board of your society, but also helps them make connections with other members, establishing your society’s events and meetings as a common meeting place.
But what if your society isn’t geared towards large gatherings? Well, my own society is one of these. What we did was find ways to see members every day, discuss upcoming events, and have fun, philosophical conversations. Consistent engagement was achieved by getting a common room where intellectually inclined students can show up; there will likely be other members there doing homework or just having conversations (come check us out in MN525). Another society that comes to mind is the SMU Debate Society. They host casual debates every Monday/Thursday evening from 6 pm to 8 pm. Not only are two weekly events fantastic, but their meetings are also on Monday and Thursday evenings, which allows members with busy M/W schedules to attend on Thursday, and vice versa for the busy T/TR students. Having a consistent meeting space reduces the pressure members feel when attending events and encourages them to be more invested in future, larger-scale events. Making sure that your members not only feel like they are part of the society, but actually are, is integral.
Finally, keeping society members in the loop of ongoing events and meetings is critical. For example, a weekly newsletter is invaluable for what is going on in your society. It provides members with information they can refer to and allows executives to introduce and generate excitement for their events without worrying about sounding too pushy or in-your-face, making members feel like they aren’t missing out on anything if they haven’t opened their social media in a while, or they have been sick and missed a week of school.
Have a Committed Executive Team
The non-executive branch of a student society is the most important part of any society; nevertheless, the executive branch is essential to a society's functioning. Each role should have its duties explicitly stated and agreed upon by the entire executive team. Fostering an open dialogue throughout the event planning process helps prevent mistakes and miscommunication. Most student societies have three to five executive roles. Having more executive roles will likely lead to greater success, as more people will be committed to your society’s overall success. Typically, these executive roles are: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Social Media Manager.
Each of these executive roles plays an important and unique role within a student society. Ideally, there are specific criteria that each role should strive for. The President is responsible for engagement outside the society, including maintaining contact with SMUSA for updates and pertinent information. This also includes collaborating with other societies and arranging meetings with the administration. Generally speaking, the President will also likely assist other executive members of the society and lead all events. Depending on the size of the society, the option of co-Presidents is worth considering.
Next, the Vice President is responsible for more of the internal affairs in a society. For instance, the Vice President of SMU’s Environmental Society should be in contact with the faculty of their respective program. Not only this, but the rest of the society's members (executive or otherwise) should defer to the Vice President before the President on most issues. This allows the President to focus on larger-scale events. There may be times when the Vice President deems it necessary to contact the President about certain problems, and that's fine—they're meant to reduce the burden on everyone in such cases. Additionally, like the President, the Vice President will assist other executive members when required, including the President.
Unlike the President and Vice President, the other three roles are much more focused on different functions of the society. The social media manager role is self-explanatory: they should provide consistent engagement on the platform, respond to messages, and usually create posters for their society's events. The Secretary is responsible for responding to and sending emails, taking notes from general meetings, filling out SERM forms for events, and sending the weekly newsletter to keep members in the loop. Lastly, the Treasurer is in charge of the society's bank account, assuring that it can cover snacks/pizza/drinks and other event-related costs. Additionally, the Treasurer needs to arrange that if the bank account begins to run low, a fundraising event is already scheduled. If all the executive roles are adequately fulfilled, then a society will be able to function smoothly.
Figure Out Your Niche
The SMU Chemistry Society is unlikely to host events on starting a business, just as the SMU Entrepreneurship Society is not going to host regular events on chemistry experiments. If both were focusing on the same things, then they would be fighting to get more people to attend their events. Understanding what your society can do and how it can properly distinguish itself from other societies is crucial to your society's success. There has to be a reason for students to put their free time into your society rather than another; finding it and accentuating it will be the most important thing a society can do. Inquiring with your other members and figuring out why they consistently participate should help illuminate your society’s niche.
Implementing these three useful approaches will help any student society thrive! With active engagement, a dedicated team of executives, and a clear sense of what your society's je ne sais quoi is, your society can start the next term on a high note. Make sure to celebrate victories, take every mistake as a learning opportunity, and take pride in the community you are a part of, because at the end of the day, that’s what student societies are all about: sharing your interests with other like-minded students and having fun along the way. Happy holidays and have a wonderful break!