Club systems should make it easier for students to get involved, not harder

Club systems should make it easier for students to get involved, not harder Categories: Editorials Opinion Club systems should make it easier for students to get involved, not harder By Union Editorial Board • October 9, 2026 Illustration by Zuri Goodwin Starting a club at a community college should be an opportunity to bring students together around a shared interest, not a process that makes students wonder whether it is worth trying. Students shouldn’t have to sit for weeks waiting to see whether they can get money for a pizza; simple hinges shouldn’t require so much administrative control. While El Camino College’s new club system is intended to make things easier, students should be able to see real improvements in how quickly and easily they can start and operate their organizations. Student clubs give students a way to find community, explore interests and become involved in campus life. If the process for creating and operating those clubs becomes a barrier, students may give up before their ideas ever get off the ground. At ECC, the process for starting, funding and operating student clubs is currently changing. The former Inter-Club Council process has dissolved into the newly formed Student Activities Board and the Associated Students Organization. ICC is supposed to be a governing body that supports student clubs by hosting engaging events to promote involvement and a sense of community. However, changes came after the council received repetitive feedback from clubs about delays in the former system, particularly when students requested funding for upcoming events. Tyler Strohl, Student Activities Advisor, said the timeline was one of the major problems with the former process. Under the former system, ICC met weekly on Monday, meaning a club could have to wait a week before its request was reviewed. Even after approval, students could still have to wait for orders or purchases to be processed. The new system is intended to reduce some of those delays by moving more of the administrative work to the Student Development and Activities office. If that happens, it could make a meaningful difference for students trying to organize events, request funding or build organizations on campus. But there is an important question that the college should not overlook: Will the new system actually make it easier for students to participate? The answer is not known yet as the system is still new, which means students should have a role in evaluating whether it is actually improving their experience. Students attempting to start clubs should be able to explain what parts of the process were easy and what parts were difficult. Their experiences will provide some of the clearest evidence of whether the new system is accomplishing its goal. The process for starting a new club has also changed. Students currently need 10 interested students, a faculty adviser and a constitution, while also following college policies and avoiding unnecessary duplication of existing clubs. For students who are struggling to find enough members, Club Rush can also provide an opportunity to recruit students before officially establishing a club. This can give students a chance to see whether there is enough interest in their idea before going through the full process of creating an organization. The college should make sure these requirements are easy to find and understand. Students should not have to search through multiple offices or websites to figure out how to start a club. The new system also changes the responsibility for funding and administrative decisions. Rather than relying on the former ICC process for every request, clubs can work with the Student Development and Activities office. This may make the process more efficient, but it also raises an important question about student involvement. When a system changes from one that includes a student council to one that places more responsibility with an administrative office, students should understand how their voice remains part of the decision-making process. Efficiency should not come at the expense of student involvement. ECC should make sure students understand the new system just as clearly as administrators do. If a student wants to start a club, they should be able to easily find out what they need, who they need to contact and how long the process is expected to take. Strohl has indicated that the new system can be evaluated and changed if it does not work. That willingness to evaluate the system is important. The goal should not simply be to replace ICC with another complicated process. The goal should be to make student involvement easier and fair. For community college students, those delays can be particularly difficult. Students have classes, jobs and other responsibilities. Furthermore, many are only at ECC for a limited amount of time before transferring or graduating. Student Activities Adviser and Student Development Director Tyler Strohl said the goal is to make the process more efficient and reduce the amount of time clubs spend waiting for approvals. 0 Like This Story Share on Facebook Share on X Email this Story Print this Story Tags: clubs inter-club council More to Discover More in Editorials Bookstore prices can take a hike To the custodians, recognizing your greatness Mid-semester is not the time to give up Next time, bring graduation back to Friday Students, beware of bots Petitioning pyramid scheme needs to be stopped More in Opinion Letter to the Editor: A response to "Child Development Center demolition date set" A lack of third spaces ruined my teen years VIEWPOINTS: How do students get to class? 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