By Rachel Makabi
Daily Bruin Reporter
As student groups rush to recruit new members during the
Undergraduate Students Association Council’s Welcome Week,
their methods of attracting people are as diverse as the focuses of
the groups themselves.
With more than 500 student groups registered with the Center for
Student Programming, the organizations serve different purposes,
and the manner by which they attract members range from throwing
large parties in Los Angeles clubs to holding signs that advertise
their ideologies.
“Does it really matter what fraternity or sorority you
join when millions of people are starving to death?” said
Marc Lispy, a fifth-year philosophy student and member of the
Socialist Action Group as he read the message off a sign he was
holding.
Lispy said his sign on Bruin Walk was meant to criticize groups
that only focus on social events instead of advocating political
and social reform.
“We have a lot of people who respond well to our
signs,” Lispy said. “It really reflects the type of
person who will join ““ someone who is concerned about bigger
social issues.”
Some socially-oriented groups use social events as a way for
members to meet others who can identify with their religious and
cultural backgrounds.
Anup Suresh, a member of the Indian Student Union and a
fourth-year computer science and engineering student, said his
group notified people of a large back-to-school party by passing
out flyers and sending out mass e-mails.
Other groups use social events to attract members so they can
later become involved in the organization’s main
activities.
Alpha Phi Omega pledge master Alicia Louie, a fourth-year
biochemistry student, noted this combination in the co-ed
fraternity by showing the community service events they are doing
during rush week, while also having a large barbecue for members to
meet one another.
Others stressed that their groups are meant for people who share
the same interests.
Gion Coluso, a UCLA alumnus and a member of the UCLA Ocean
Discovery Center Club, said the purpose of the group is to recruit
members for the UCLA Ocean Discovery Center in Santa Monica.
“We don’t have a big bash or anything like that, but
if someone is interested, they will just come up to us and let us
know,” Coluso said.
He said his group tables on Bruin Walk, has a glass case set up
in the Life Sciences Building and makes announcements in
classes.
No matter what the purpose of an organization is, USAC financial
supports commissioner Kim Coss said getting involved in a group is
the best way to meet people “and learn what this university
has to offer as well as a way for you to show the university what
you have to offer.”
Despite the large amount of groups on campus, some students said
it is still difficult to find the right group to join.
“Sometimes it is kind of overwhelming because they are
looking for a certain type of person, and if you aren’t like
them, you just keep on walking,” said Sharna Ettenberg, a
first-year undeclared student.
Her friend, Jessica Torin, also a first-year undeclared student,
said she has had a chance to see groups with which she might have
never gotten involved.
“Their methods of getting members appeal to different
types of people,” Torin said.