Student Pagan Organization-HELP!

[Ailyn]

Ok, so I need some help. I've been voted "president" (its actually co-chair, but there's no one else to "co" with) of the Pagan Student Club at my college. Which was really, "Wow, you're the only person available, so here you go." Not that I don't want to do this, but I've got a lot of issues to deal with. First, the school board wants to cut our funding drastically(sp?), which I can kinda understand, or completely do away with our club, which pisses me off. We have very, very few active members, which is their excuse, but this is a very conservative, Christian area. Plus I have no idea what topics I should cover this fall semester.

So here's my plea. Anyone have any ideas on how to boost membership or at least make ourselves more known? And any ideas on topics to cover? We are non-denomonational, and willing to discuss just about any branch of anything (our sister club is the homosexual club). Any help would be awesome! :broomride

[cydira]

One of the things that you could do is to pick a cause that your club is going to support and encourage the members to actively do work towards it. This will help build your community presence and make you a bit more well known, it will also be a non-theological point of discussion with others of different belief backgrounds. As many pagan belief systems place a very high emphasis on the Earth, I would say that environmentalism could be a good fit.

Work for social justice and raising the community standard of living is also a good option, which opens the door for cross-faith collaboration with the more liberal Christian groups in the area. Something like collecting donations for a local food pantry or making blankets (http://www.make-your-own-baby-stuff.com/make-a-baby-blanket.html) for babies who have special needs is a fairly benign and non-threatening thing for others. It is also something that can be done together as a group for a long term project (over the semester).

Aside from engaging in some activism in the community, getting together with the other members and making up some fact sheets about your group can be very helpful. It not only gives each member an opportunity to be the expert on their particular faith, it makes it possible to have something immediately handy to counter some of the stereotypes out there about pagans. Make sure that your fact sheets are easy to read and not too full of information.

I know that may sound a little silly, but a page with 10 bullet points typed in a large, easy to read font will be less intimidating then a page with three or four paragraphs in a small but very ornate font. If you find that you have more information you want to share then will fit on your fact sheet, you can put together a small booklet to accompany the fact sheet. I would suggest that your group, in putting together your fact sheet, you first figure out what all of you have in common.

Some of the questions that you are going to encounter are going to be:

Do you all believe the same thing?
Do pagans believe in God?
Is magic something that comes from the Devil?
Do you worship the Devil?
Do you curse people?
Can you really tell the future? (If the topic of divination ever comes up.)
Do pagans require nudity and sex in their worship?


I'm sure there's a lot more questions, but I can't think of what they'd be. All of those stereotypes that we run into when we publicly express our beliefs are rooted in ignorance and assumptions that are based on wild speculation or old superstitions. In dealing with a predominantly conservative Christian community, you'll find that you need to first reassure them that you are not a threat and then to show how you guys are not any different from they are, you're all law abiding and conscientious citizens.

Aside from focusing on reassuring the community that you're all good and decent people and building your presence in the community, it is good to also work on helping others understand Earth-centered spirituality and the basics of the faiths of your members. As such, it may be a good idea to host a few public gatherings where your group welcomes others to discuss such things. This is where you can tie the activism together with public outreach.

Also, make a point of including some fun activities that are 'traditional' to the season and have a predominant place in the Pagan community at large. A fine example would be a party celebrating Holloween/Samhain. Open the party with a brief explanation of the origins of this celebration and the various practices, like jack-o-lanterns and wearing of costumes, and encourage people to mingle and share their thoughts and questions with others.

As to the matter of the school board, before you go to them to discuss the matter of funding, put a plan into place for what your group is going to do for the semester, if not the year. Talk with the other members and answer the following questions:

What is the goal of your organization?
What do the members of your organization need to meet this goal?
What activities do you have planned for the semester/year?
How much is budgeted for these activities?
What activities are planned to bolster/sustain group membership?
How much is budgeted for this?


If you bring a plan for your organization for the year, including a statement describing what your goal and what you need to complete it, it shows the college that you're serious about this group. It also shows that there is some foresight and planning that may allow for the continued activity of the group into the year following the upcoming one.

When putting together your proposed budget, try to make sure that you pad it a little bit for unexpected expenses. At times the cost of materials or supplies for the activities will go up unexpectedly. If you plan for something like a 5% increase in the cost of these things, you can avoid a big headache. You could make a provision in your plans to return to the college funds that your organization didn't use at the end of the year.

If you put everything on paper, make a point of keeping careful records, and make sure that information flows freely between your organization and the college, you can find a great deal of support. It may be challenging to accomplish this by one person, but if you delegate others for different tasks, like public relations, treasurer, and secretary, you guys can be successful and not have a problem with your extra-curricular activities intruding in on your course work.

One other thing, make a schedule of when your group are all going to meet. Make some of the meetings private where your group discusses just 'business' and have some of them public where you can do things like share information about the different pagan beliefs represented in the membership.

I hope that this helps. I've been there, as you could probably tell, and it is possible to do so with sterling success.

[Toby Stimpson]

I have worked in student government before and I think that their reasoning for cutting funding is pretty sound. They themselves probably only have a limited budget as well and depending on how many clubs are operating each financial year, each clubs budget will reflect competing forces.

I would suggest that you do a media blitz in your local college newspaper, advertising who you are. Perhaps widen the scope of the club's membership so that it doesn't just focus on Pagans... maybe open it broadly to other Occult groups. Hold a scheduled set of low cost events like movie nights. At my college when I was president of the Humber LGBT, we could use any space on campus provided it was not under contract with a company. Which meant all classrooms and lecture halls. You would need to get permission first and if you have a set schedule of, say each month, movies you plan to show and the dates then you can advertise that and get permission to use the rooms.

I'd also suggest that you begin to get into contact with some other Pagan groups in the area and organize an event. If there are Pagans on your campus who commute, then they may not know whats going on on campus. But they may pay attention to stuff going on in their local area if they belong to another group.

Likewise, if your college has a chaplaincy program, organizing with them the use of the religious space available and holding weekly or monthly services. Ofcourse, as Cydira brought up, not all Pagans believe the same thing. There are a couple of Pagan groups in Toronto here that started out as campus based pagan groups and then just drifted into being traditions or closed groups of their own once their members left (a group called Caer Avalon started as the University of Toronto's pagan group). Going through the chaplaincy will also be the added bonus of applying for potentially more funding from that department if you find there is a larger event you want to host. But, this all has to come after you have a good solid working base of members.

[Ivy Artemisia]

The above posters had great ideas! The only thing I'd like to add is- create a web presence if possible. The easiest way is to create a blog. You can post photos from past events, talk about future events, create a calendar- and then put that URL down on all brochures, etc that you have. Its a way for those who DONT know you to GET to know you.

[ffetcher]

The above posters had great ideas! The only thing I'd like to add is- create a web presence if possible. The easiest way is to create a blog. You can post photos from past events, talk about future events, create a calendar- and then put that URL down on all brochures, etc that you have. Its a way for those who DONT know you to GET to know you.

Even better, it's a way they can get to know you on their own terms. Sadly, nothing remotely like the internet existed when I was a student, and I discovered early that taking the plunge and turning up for a meeting with people you don't know is psychologically difficult. I discovered this both from the POV of having to take the plunge, and also of trying to persuade others to do so. Flyers and posters can only convey so much, but a web-site or a blog can give people a good feel for what's going on, in a way that feels safe.

Another idea may be to hold certain meetings in a coffee-bar or bar if there is one on campus. Passers-by may see a lively group chatting away and not doing anything strange, which serves to break down barriers, and other pagans can size you up before approaching you.

Regarding Toby's point about groups leaving the campus, this seems to be a pretty universal - and normal - dynamic. I'm once again living where I studied, and there are many ex-student groups of all kinds in the city. I think pagan groups tend to split more often than others, but that may just be that my experience is skewed. I see three main reasons why this happens where I on my side of the pond, your mileage may, of course, vary. It may be worth thinking about them now, to see if they affect the way you approach things.

Firstly, here, campus facilities are not available to non-members other than in certain special circumstances. The pressure is often on space rather than funding but, for example, someone in a relationship with someone 'from outside' wouldn't be able to sign them in regularly for meetings. Once a group has started to meet off-campus even on an irregular basis for this or similar reasons, it tends not to drift back.

Secondly, campus facilities are only available to groups with an open membership policy. Clearly the hockey team will be composed of those who can, to some degree at least, play hockey, but the club has to be open to anyone. It would be ambiguous even to me whether a group that regularly held closed rituals would qualify: if you hold the rituals off-campus then it would be like an away hockey match, just to continue my analogy, and anyone can go along with the hockey team to cheer them on. Thirty-plus years on, I might try to argue the point with the union committee but even now I'm not sure whether I'd win; as an undergraduate I wouldn't even have tried. And again, once a group has started to meet off-campus some of the time...

Thirdly, it's a fact of life that people get older. The higher the average age, the more difficult it becomes to attract new first-year members, mostly because they're intimidating. If your core membership drifts to the point where it's mostly post-graduate researchers, quite possibly the first point will apply more strongly, but anyway first-years are unlikely to want to join. At that point it's worthwhile making it clear that you're happy to help younger people start another group.

Best of luck

blessings
ffetcher

[Ailyn]

One of the things that you could do is to pick a cause that your club is going to support and encourage the members to actively do work towards it.

In previous years, in conjunction with Spectrum, our LGBT club, we host a blood drive during National AIDS Week. At my school, we have to do one community service event either per year or per semester, so some sort of community service is a must. But I would also really like to do a more “earthy” sort of service, whether its clean up trash at the park, or sponsor a recycling drive or something.


Work for social justice and raising the community standard of living is also a good option, which opens the door for cross-faith collaboration with the more liberal Christian groups in the area. Something like collecting donations for a local food pantry or making blankets (http://www.make-your-own-baby-stuff.com/make-a-baby-blanket.html) for babies who have special needs is a fairly benign and non-threatening thing for others. It is also something that can be done together as a group for a long term project (over the semester).

Awesome ideas! I will definitely propose those to the group.


Aside from engaging in some activism in the community, getting together with the other members and making up some fact sheets about your group can be very helpful. It not only gives each member an opportunity to be the expert on their particular faith, it makes it possible to have something immediately handy to counter some of the stereotypes out there about pagans. Make sure that your fact sheets are easy to read and not too full of information.

That’s a great idea, but I’m not sure how too well it would work. Most of the people in our group are still searching for their path, but we could have someone pick what appeals to them most and follow through with that.



I know that may sound a little silly, but a page with 10 bullet points typed in a large, easy to read font will be less intimidating then a page with three or four paragraphs in a small but very ornate font. If you find that you have more information you want to share then will fit on your fact sheet, you can put together a small booklet to accompany the fact sheet. I would suggest that your group, in putting together your fact sheet, you first figure out what all of you have in common.

That’d be great! We actually had something similar in the past. At the end of last semester we hosted a “Spiral Walk”, where we set up a large spiral and had little signs through it, explaining chakras and about “spiraling” deeper into oneself to strive towards enlightenment. And as our semester ended the second week of May, we also had little papers to give out explaining a little about Beltaine. And I believe once or twice a semester, we have like this club fair, where all the clubs set up a display and everyone gets a chance to see it. But Spiral (our club) wasn’t able to participate last year because of some issues our governing body was dealing with, which were completely beyond they’re control.


Also, make a point of including some fun activities that are 'traditional' to the season and have a predominant place in the Pagan community at large. A fine example would be a party celebrating Holloween/Samhain. Open the party with a brief explanation of the origins of this celebration and the various practices, like jack-o-lanterns and wearing of costumes, and encourage people to mingle and share their thoughts and questions with others.

Yes, that’s also something else I’d like to work on. But we have had an Altar for the Dead every Samhain, where people can write things they would like to see die and pass away, I.e.: anger, jealousy, sadness, bad habits…, on little bits of paper. Then we burn them and scatter them across campus.



As to the matter of the school board, before you go to them to discuss the matter of funding, put a plan into place for what your group is going to do for the semester, if not the year. What do the members of your organization need to meet this goal?

All the funding we get is determined by how many members we have, and additional funding is determined on an event by event basis. But all those questions will be great in determining how much we should petition for, and what can we do within our means.


One other thing, make a schedule of when your group are all going to meet. Make some of the meetings private where your group discusses just 'business' and have some of them public where you can do things like share information about the different pagan beliefs represented in the membership.

Yes, we need better meeting times and organization. Thank you sooo, sooo much for your input! I’m not a very organized person by nature, but I make myself be that way, otherwise I’ll panic and burn.

[Ailyn]

I have worked in student government before and I think that their reasoning for cutting funding is pretty sound. They themselves probably only have a limited budget as well and depending on how many clubs are operating each financial year, each clubs budget will reflect competing forces.

I completely understand why they are cutting our budget, and I hope to remedy that by increasing membership.


II would suggest that you do a media blitz in your local college newspaper, advertising who you are. Perhaps widen the scope of the club's membership so that it doesn't just focus on Pagans... maybe open it broadly to other Occult groups.

We do advertise that anyone is welcome to attend our meetings no matter their faith, spirituality, religion, or lack thereof. We also tend to include Occult under Pagan, Pagan not being strictly Earth-based, Neo-Pagan spiritualities, but meaning non-Abrahamic religions. I understand some religious/spiritual sects who would classify as Pagan under my definition tend not to use the terminology “Pagan” to describe themselves.


II'd also suggest that you begin to get into contact with some other Pagan groups in the area and organize an event. If there are Pagans on your campus who commute, then they may not know whats going on on campus. But they may pay attention to stuff going on in their local area if they belong to another group.

I’m at a regional campus, so everyone on campus is a commuter. But I would like to get in touch with other Pagan groups, I do know of one in Canton that is fairly active.


ILikewise, if your college has a chaplaincy program, organizing with them the use of the religious space available and holding weekly or monthly services. Ofcourse, as Cydira brought up, not all Pagans believe the same thing. There are a couple of Pagan groups in Toronto here that started out as campus based pagan groups and then just drifted into being traditions or closed groups of their own once their members left (a group called Caer Avalon started as the University of Toronto's pagan group). Going through the chaplaincy will also be the added bonus of applying for potentially more funding from that department if you find there is a larger event you want to host. But, this all has to come after you have a good solid working base of members.

Yeah, I hope that we can get that far with our group, though I'm not sure how the chaplaincy progam works at the regional campuses. I’m trying to see if people would be interested in fundraising to go to the Wisteria Cornstalk Fest next summer, but it’d be nice to have something up here.

[Ailyn]

The above posters had great ideas! The only thing I'd like to add is- create a web presence if possible. The easiest way is to create a blog. You can post photos from past events, talk about future events, create a calendar- and then put that URL down on all brochures, etc that you have. Its a way for those who DONT know you to GET to know you.

Even better, it's a way they can get to know you on their own terms. Sadly, nothing remotely like the internet existed when I was a student, and I discovered early that taking the plunge and turning up for a meeting with people you don't know is psychologically difficult. I discovered this both from the POV of having to take the plunge, and also of trying to persuade others to do so. Flyers and posters can only convey so much, but a web-site or a blog can give people a good feel for what's going on, in a way that feels safe.

We do have a web presence right now, which I’m hoping to expand. We’ve a group on Facebook and Yahoo!, though the Yahoo! one is very rarely utilized lately. I’m also hoping to make one on Paganspace, thereby encouraging the members of our club to get a Paganspace. But I have a link to our Facebook group in my siggy, if you want to check it out.


Another idea may be to hold certain meetings in a coffee-bar or bar if there is one on campus. Passers-by may see a lively group chatting away and not doing anything strange, which serves to break down barriers, and other pagans can size you up before approaching you.

Eh, little campus, just the Campus Center and Student Emporium, but we could hold a meeting in the Campus Center.



Regarding Toby's point about groups leaving the campus, this seems to be a pretty universal - and normal - dynamic.

Firstly, here, campus facilities are not available to non-members other than in certain special circumstances. The pressure is often on space rather than funding but, for example, someone in a relationship with someone 'from outside' wouldn't be able to sign them in regularly for meetings. Once a group has started to meet off-campus even on an irregular basis for this or similar reasons, it tends not to drift back.

Secondly, campus facilities are only available to groups with an open membership policy. Clearly the hockey team will be composed of those who can, to some degree at least, play hockey, but the club has to be open to anyone. It would be ambiguous even to me whether a group that regularly held closed rituals would qualify: if you hold the rituals off-campus then it would be like an away hockey match, just to continue my analogy, and anyone can go along with the hockey team to cheer them on. Thirty-plus years on, I might try to argue the point with the union committee but even now I'm not sure whether I'd win; as an undergraduate I wouldn't even have tried. And again, once a group has started to meet off-campus some of the time...

Thirdly, it's a fact of life that people get older. The higher the average age, the more difficult it becomes to attract new first-year members, mostly because they're intimidating. If your core membership drifts to the point where it's mostly post-graduate researchers, quite possibly the first point will apply more strongly, but anyway first-years are unlikely to want to join. At that point it's worthwhile making it clear that you're happy to help younger people start another group.

Well, our group really isn’t leaving the campus, membership has just decreased, people get bored and fall away. We are an open club, so we have no issues using the campus facilities, we don’t have closed rituals since none of use feels comfortable leading a group ritual, nor have we really had any experience with it. Yes, the people who began Spiral have aged. Of our co-chairs last year, one graduates this fall and has none of his remaining classes at our campus (though he is willing to help me organize from afar), and the other (the original founder of Spiral) just lost her husband after a long illness, so she really doesn’t have the time or desire right now to lead this group. Lol, I am the younger person who "took the plunge". This past spring was my first semester at this campus, and I didn't know anybody, and I had previously had bad experiences with a Wiccan group in Kent/Ravenna. So I'm hoping to bring in some "youthfulness" and hopefully get other new people to join. Thanks again for all your help!!

[LisaT4P]

I'm not familiar with running a campus based group, but after attending and attempting to run a local "open circle" type of group, I've found that hands-on activities draw more folks. :)

Some form of craft is usually a fun idea, you'd be surprised at how many adults really like to make door-hangers, key-chains, etc. LOL Also, when you're going to have a discussion, make sure it's really a discussion (with all participating) and not just one person talking about a subject for 1/2 hour. :)

The one group that I helped start kept a Yahoo group and we posted all the local events that we knew about on the calendar. A good way to start finding those events is to search Meet-Up groups as well as the events listed on WitchVox. :)

[Dawa Lhamo]

I ran the Campus Pagan organization in college under similar circumstances - i.e. no one else to do the job - my second semester of my freshman year. Some of the things we did included getting involved in the Interfaith Campus Ministries and co-sponsoring Beltane and Samhain events with the Gaelic Culture Society (who had much better funding). It was nice for people who were curious about us or who wanted to attend *our* events without being *out*... We also did Tarot readings for the charity event Dance Marathon. All of our esbats and sabbats were open, and occasionally we'd have someone from a nearby school come to do a report on World Religions or such... The ones with crafty creative stuff went over best. And food. Food is always appreciated.

[Zephyrstorm]

I was the president of our PSA for a year and have continued to advise those who've come after. When I first met the local Pagan Student group on campus, it was 4 people.

One of the important things - don't try to do it all by yourself. Get help and don't be afraid to poke at others to participate.
Be flexible with topics and encourage activities outside of the regular meetings. We held picnics, invited the priest from the Eastern Orthodox Christian group to come talk with us, visited with the local UU and gave presentations for one of the sociology professors on Tarot and Divination.

Other activities that we've done is to adopt a section of a park, planting trees, camping trips, and even travelling to the Texas Renaissance Festival. Sometimes our discussions were more like presentations and at other times they were lively debates about the subject. Craft nights are good; so are movie nights.
also keep in mind the schedule of the semester - do something lighter that allows everyone downtime around midterms and before finals.

but I'm starting to repeat the great advice others have given, so I'll shut up now. ;) good luck!