Student involvement is significantly different on a college campus than in high school and perhaps more enriching because of the array of different options. At UM, there are more than 200 registered organizations. They include everything from a highly developed and functioning Student Government and programming boards to organizations for almost every ethnic group represented among the campus population.
The road to getting started can sometimes be confusing, and because of the wide number of options it may be a challenge to pinpoint the organizations that best fit each student. In order to alleviate this difficulty, the Smith-Tucker Involvement Center, affectionately referred to as the STIC, was created as a compass by which students can find their bearings and navigate their time at UM.
“The office is useful because of all the information that we have available for students,” Cynthia Chapel, assistant director of the STIC, said. “What is cool is that we have the Student Organization Handbook and the CANEctions Involvement Guide, everyone in the office is always on hand to help and provide guidance to students.”
The STIC is a valuable resource to those individuals who take advantage of it-it’s the center for all of the different groups on campus to gain input and exchange ideas.
“I would encourage students to drop by and find out what there is to be involved with on campus,” Chapel said. “College is an adjustment and getting involved outside the classroom can often make that transition an easier one.”
If by chance one still does not pique interest, students are given the opportunity to create an involvement group through the STIC. A few guidelines must be met in order to initiate a new organization, like being a student for a designated amount of time, having at least 25 interested students, an advisor who is staff at UM and a written constitution.
The University community holds that being involved as a student will not only make for a better experience, but will create opportunities to learn outside the classroom and the STIC is one of the ways that that belief is put into action at UM.
Stacey Arnold can be contacted at
s.arnold@umiami.edu.