Days on Campus changes process of club participation

Unlike years past, the Days on Campus student activity fair, a prime event for recruiting eager prospective freshman, was invitation only.

In the past, the Admissions Office sent out a mass email to all registered student clubs on campus, but this year— with just 60 spots— only a small fraction of the over 300 clubs were invited. Several larger organizations, including the Columbia University College Democrats, the Columbia University Marching Band, and The Fed did not receive direct invitations.

A University spokesperson said in an email, “We recognize the value each student group brings to campus and this was not meant in any way to exclude, but rather to create a process that is more streamlined and efficient.”

According to background information, confirmed by The Division of Student Affairs, invitations were issued this year in an effort to manage attendance and ensure that a cross-section of active organizations would be represented.

For some groups, it was just a shift in procedure, but for others, it was an unfair policy change.

Maisha Rashid, BC ’10 and president of Model Congress, said she was frustrated with the new process, which she felt didn’t support groups of her size. “I believe we were left out which is a shame because for a small group we really want to take every opportunity to advertise,” she said in an email. “If their policy was to leave out small groups, then it just gave larger groups the privilege to advertise more.”

A member of the marching band, who declined to be identified because he said he wasn’t allowed to speak on behalf of the group, said the band, after it did not receive an invite, contacted the Office of Community Development to request a table.

The band was given a table after several invited groups did not show up, but the band member said he was concerned about groups who didn’t know the fair was happening and ultimately weren’t able to get space.

“Although these are just prospective students, these fairs are the beginning of recruiting new members, and these clubs were unfairly excluded,” he said.

The Office of Student Affairs confirmed that all student groups would be invited to participate in an activities fair in the fall held for new students on campus.

For some student groups, the lack of an official invitation did not stop them from securing a table at the event and reaching out to interested prospective students.

Rohan Jotwani, a member of the Model United Nations, said that a member of the executive board had learned the fair would be happening and contacted the University about getting a table.
He said, “We were not ‘invited’ per se, but we still set up and everything was fine.”

leah.greenbaum@columbiaspectator.com

Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that The Office of Student Activities and Multicultural Affairs invited student groups to the spring activities fair. The Admissions Office sends those emails. Spectator regrets the error.