By Ellie Greenberger
Becoming a Registered Student Organization here at Ole Miss helps in many different ways because it provides privileges that non-registered organizations do not have.
According to the University of Mississippi’s Office of Leadership and Advocacy website, “You cannot reserve space on campus, host events, or apply for ASB funding until and unless you are approved.”
Katie Davis and Sarah Smith, Campus Coordinators and Co-Presidents of the Ole Miss chapter of Her-Campus, have both been working to become recognized as an official Registered Student Organization. As of 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 24, 2018, our chapter became official.
Davis said that our chapter didn’t have to be a registered organization. She said that when she and Smith were going through the Her-Campus application it asked if they were one or wanted to be one. Davis said they both knew that they wanted to try and be one.
Davis offers advice to others who are thinking about becoming a registered student organization:
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Start early. “They advertise it to be simple and easy,” Davis said. “But we had to wait for the Student Organization Orientation in April after starting the process in December.”
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Go talk to someone on the staff. Davis and Smith both worked with Hal Sullivan. “He’s really fun and chill,” Davis said. “He will help expedite the process as much as he can and make it easier to understand.”
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Check all the boxes. They require you to submit forms, find a faculty advisor, write a constitution and more. (for the full list of steps check out The University of Mississippi’s Office of Leadership and Advocacy website at http://dos.orgsync.com/student_organizations).
One of the things that on campus organizations are allowed to do is have early set up for the Grove. Davis said that instead of having to sprint to get to the grove, Registered Student Organizations, are allowed to get there early, provided they have a tent. They are also supposed to have one member stay with the tent at all times.
Davis said that while all of perks of being a Registered Student Organization are great, it really is just fun to call yourself official.
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