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Club Policy HandbookOverview of ClubsClubs at Liberty University are student organizations that provide a unique service to the university, and which are given special privileges by the university administration. These privileges include room reservations, funding, tabling, speaker requests, and more. This handbook documents procedures, privileges, and requirements related to clubs. Other club documents can be found on the SGA webpage under the link to Clubs Forms. Liberty University Student Government Association (SGA) wants the best for clubs at LU. If you think there is something terrible going on, please do not hesitate to contact anyone in SGA about your situation. Becoming a ClubIf you want to form a club, you must first have an idea for what your club is about. This idea must uniquely provide a service to the university, and this club cannot violate the Liberty Way. Your club should be prepared to continue being active for the foreseeable future. If you want to form a student organization that has privileges to reserve rooms, request speakers, and reserve tables, but you do not want to exist for more than a semester, you should consider creating a Student Group. Student Groups have the privileges mentioned, but are not able to request funding, and they must reapply each semester that they wish to continue. Compiling Club DocumentsThere are three documents that you will need to submit to begin your club approval process. These are the New Club Application Form and your club’s constitution. The New Club Application Form will require new clubs to fill out information about the club, and requires the signature and information of your faculty advisor. To create a club, you will need a faculty member to sponsor your club. Your club’s constitution will also need to be submitted. There is an example constitution in the New Club Application Form if you would like to see one.Submitting Club DocumentsOnce you have compiled your club documents, you need to submit them to sgaclubs@liberty.edu. The Deputy Director of Clubs will work with you about any incorrect or incomplete parts of the documents that you submitted.Once the Deputy Director of Clubs has reviewed and approved your club documents, your application will be sent to the Director of Clubs. Upon approval by the Director of Clubs, your application will be sent to the Student Body President. If the Student Body President approves your club application, then your club is official.Club Denial Any of the reviewers mentioned above may deny your club’s application. Your club can only be denied if it violates the Liberty Way or if it does not provide a unique service to the university. You can file a suit in the student court if you believe your club was denied unfairly. If your club is denied, you can resubmit your club application if you corrected the reason that your club was denied. First YearIf your club was approved, then during your club’s first year, you will not be able to request funding. A club must be active for one year before being able to request funding. Additionally, your club may be vetoed by the University President or the Vice President of Student Affairs during your first year.Students Qualified for ClubsStudent Government Association Clubs are provided for the growth of students of campus. Leadership of clubs must be held by underclassmen students. Graduate students are allowed to be in clubs under the discretion of the club’s leaderships.In order to be a member of a Student Government Association Club, the individual must be enrolled in Liberty University courses.Tabling RequestsTabling is done to advertise for club events, speakers, or to create awareness for a certain club or cause. There are several tabling location on campus, including Demoss Hall, the Jerry Falwell Library, The Reber-Thomas Dining Hall, and North (Lahaye/Green Hall). Tabling requests should be quick and efficient. To table at the Jerry Falwell Library, you must contact the library staff. To table at Demoss, North, or the Reber-Thomas Dining Hall, you must navigate to the Clubs Forms page and fill out the Table Request form (which is accessed by clicking on the Events Request Form). The Table Request form is processed by your Club Coordinator. After checking the calendar, it is then either approved or denied. Room RequestsSGA RoomsClubs have the ability to reserve any of the rooms in the SGA office (located on the third floor of the Montview Student Union, on the side opposite from where the Montview elevator is). These are the easiest rooms for clubs to reserve; however, there are only four of these rooms. To reserve a room in the SGA office, simply go to the front desk and request the room. Library RoomsIf you want a low-hassle room to reserve, you could also reserve a library room in the Jerry Falwell Library. Clubs also have the specific privilege of reserving the Terrace Conference Room in the library, which individual students cannot. Simply go to the library and request a room from a librarian.Event RequestsIf you would like a room in Demoss Hall or another academic building, you will need to fill out an event request. To access the room requests, navigate to the Clubs Forms webpage and click on the link for Event Request Forms. Enter your Liberty username and password, click on the “Event Request” link, and fill out the form. If you will be reserving this room for multiple dates during the semester, you may make a comment in the event request that this will be reserved for specific dates in the semester, and this request will be processed.Once you have submitted an event request, this request will be reviewed by your Club Coordinator, the Director of Clubs, and the Events Office. You will receive word from the Director of Clubs, either confirming or denying your event request. If your room was denied, a reason will be given for denial, and you may reserve again, if this reason can be amended. Funding RequestsFunded and Unfunded ClubsFunded Clubs are clubs that are not partisan in nature. These clubs cannot endorse specific parties, politicians, or candidates for political office at the local, state, or federal level. Funded Clubs are eligible to receive funding from SGA.Unfunded Clubs are partisan in nature, and may endorse politicians or parties of their choice. These clubs are not eligible to receive funds from SGA. Categories of FundingThere are three categories of funding for Funded Clubs. These three categories are described in the Comprehensive Finance Guidelines form on the Clubs Forms webpage. At the beginning of each semester, a club is required to complete the Clubs Classification Inquiry form, which can also be found on the Clubs Forms webpage. This will confirm with SGA that each club is categorized correctly. If a club does not complete this form at the beginning of the semester, then that club will be ineligible to receive funding for the entire semester.Budgeting ProcessFunds are distributed to clubs as gifts from the Student Government Association. Clubs that wish to request funding must submit a form with their proposed budget for the semester. This form must be emailed to sgatreasury@liberty.edu. This form must be submitted no later than one week after the all-clubs meeting.The SGA Treasurer will examine all funding requests and will distribute funds to clubs based upon need and availability of funds. At any time after the Treasurer has distributed funds, any club may request a form showing the percentages of total club funds that were distributed to clubs who requested funding.Funding RequestsThe budgeting process specified above will not guarantee your club funding for what your budget specified. It simply allocates a specific amount of funds to your club at the beginning of the semester. To request the funds allocated to your club, you will need to submit a funding request form. The funding request form can be found on the Clubs Forms webpage. Simply enter the information, and submit it to your faculty advisor for review. This form will be sent from your Faculty Advisor to the SGA Treasury, who will then confirm or deny your funding request. If you believe your funding request was improperly denied, you may file a suit in the student court.Speaker RequestsPurpose of Club SpeakersClubs are highly encouraged to invite speakers to Liberty University. However, any speakers who have a history of encouraging violence or engaging in violence may be denied. Additionally, if a club invites a speaker who violates the Liberty Way while at Liberty University, that club will not be able to invite another speaker for the remainder of that semester, and any speakers which that club invites during the next semester may be denied for any reason.Requesting a SpeakerIf a club wants to invite a speaker, then that club must fill out the LU Staff Prospective Guest Form. To access this form, navigate to liberty.edu/osd/lustages. If this form is no longer on this link, search Liberty’s site for the LU Stages webpage. The form should be located on that page. You will need to enter your faculty advisor’s information on this form, as well as information about the proposed speaker. By submitting this to LU Stages, any proper advertisement or accommodations for this speaker will be made known to Liberty administration. Your speaker may even be considered for Convocation.Club Privileges and RestrictionsMachine Request FormClubs have the privilege of using select machines from SGA (such as the popcorn machine, cotton candy machine, and snow cone machine). If your club would like to use one or more of these machines for an event, you can fill out the machine request form (found at the Clubs Forms webpage). Submit this document to the front desk of the SGA office to reserve the machine for your club’s event.List of ClubsThere is a Google Doc on the Clubs Forms webpage entitled “List of Clubs.” Every Liberty University club will have a page on this Google Doc that the club can use to write whatever information is relevant to that club. For instance, club officers, meeting times, and upcoming events can all be listed on this page. If at any time you wish to change the information on your club’s page, simply email sgaclubs@liberty.edu.Representation of ClubsEvery club is allotted a seat in the House of Delegates. Thus, one member of your club has the ability to vote in the House of Delegates, join committees in the House of Delegates, and write legislation for the House of Delegates. If you would like more information about this, you can contact the Clerk of the House of Delegates about joining the House at sgaHODClerk@liberty.edu.The Liberty WayNeither Funded nor Unfunded Clubs may hold events, host speakers, or table if such action results in the breaking of the Liberty Way. If a club breaks the Liberty Way, they may be disbanded or lose funding for up to two semesters.Club Vetting ProcessEvery club is required to complete the Club Vetting Process at the beginning of each semester, before the all-clubs meeting. The Club Vetting Process form can be found on the Clubs Forms page on the SGA webpage. After filling out this form, you must send it to your Account Manager at sgatreasury@liberty.edu. Clubs who do not fill out this form are at risk of losing funding for the semester. ................
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