Cal State Fullerton’s two-day club rush “Discoverfest” is coming up in just a few days, and the week after will be CSUF Students for Life’s first bi-weekly meeting of Spring 2018. To help you ease into the semester, here are a few ideas you may find useful for your own club!
1. Have Food
Pretty self-explanatory. Pizza, chips, soda, cookies, exotic fruit tray… Offer poor, starving college students some free grub and the people will come!
Pro-tip #1: Get a room that isn’t too big for your expected audience size. Empty chairs subconsciously send a negative message about your group/meetings to attendees, especially newcomers.
Pro-tip #2: If you can get a room with a television or projector, hook up your laptop and fill the screen with a picture of your group or club logo. You can also use powerpoint slides instead of an agenda for a free and paperless way to guide the meeting and stay on track. Plus, it looks really professional!
2. Make New Attendees Feel Welcome!
You may attract new members/meeting attendees at any time throughout the year, but this is especially true at the beginning of each semester, particularly following your school’s club rush. If you’ve ever entered a room of people who all knew each other (and we all have) you know just how lonely and intimidating it can feel. To make these newcomers feel welcome, be sure to introduce yourself before the meeting starts, as well as introduce them to other members.
Pro-tip #3: If your officers are well-trained they’ll already know the drill. 😉 One person breaks the ice by talking with the newcomer briefly, then passes them on to the next officer with an introduction. They’ll talk for a little while until this officer introduces them to another member/officer. By the time the meeting starts, this new person will already feel like they know a few people, and are more likely to come back.
You can also put newcomers on the spot during the meeting, asking them to stand and introduce themselves. This is an opportunity to thank them for coming and make them more visible to other members who may not have taken notice of them before. This newcomer will likely be embarrassed, but hopefully other members will take the hint and approach them after the meeting.
Pro-tip #4: I went to a Titan Catholic meeting once to support a friend leading worship. The officers there asked newcomers to stand at the beginning of the meeting, and proceeded to greet us with a little welcome baggy, which held a flyer and some candy. I loved this idea, and encourage you to use it as well.
3. Utilize an Ice Breaker Game or Activity
In my opinion, the first meeting for any club should be productive, but have a light and welcoming tone. This can be tough for a club centered on the very serious issue of abortion, but it’s doable. One way to achieve this is through games or activities. We all know plenty of ice breakers, thanks to those awkward first days with professors that are a little *extra.*
My personal favorite is Getting to Know You Bingo. No, not the tired, sigh-inducing versions with the most basic categories. I’m talking personalized to your group’s themes.
Here is the Getting to Know You Bingo – SFL Edition I made for my club. Feel free to use and personalize it to fit your groups interests and needs!
But in case you need any more ideas… http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Best+ice+breaker+games
4. Review Club Mission Statement & Goals
Transitioning the energy from your activity into the “getting down to business” time of your meeting can be tricky. A good way to do this is through a reminder of what your club does and why. At your meetings your audience may include new members, people who are “on the fence” about abortion, or even people that disagree with you. Utilize this opportunity to promote your message. This could include the ideas/goals you publicize while tabling, or even something a little more targeted towards a likeminded audience.
For example, I usually say: “We are the pro-life club on campus. Our goal is to help pregnant, parenting, and post-abortive students with resources and support. We don’t just tell women they shouldn’t have an abortion, we help them make the right decision.
Then I often let them know what we have accomplished, and what we’re planning to do next.
For example, “CSUF Students for Life has hosted movie nights, tabling events, and socials, as well as thrown a baby shower for a pregnant student and a parenting student and got diaper changing stations on campus through working with our student government. This semester, we plan to host a speaker, get diaper changing stations in each of our classroom buildings, bring an Obria medical unit on campus to do HIV/STD and pregnancy testing, and table on various topics, including a “I’m Pro-Life, Change My Mind” outreach.”
This is our messaging, but it may not be yours. That’s okay. Every club is different. The interests and needs of each campus vary. So figure out what your goals are, and let your members know!
5. Mini-Lecture/Discussion
Choose a topic relevant to your club mission and goals, perhaps something that is also timely or in the news, and inform your membership of what’s going on.
For example, our first Spring 2018 meeting may feature discussions on SB-320 and the recent March for Life vs. the Women’s March, depending on what happens between now and then.
This is a good opportunity to keep your members “in the know” on what’s going on in the pro-life movement, or educate them on pro-life topics. A mini-apologetics session will help them better understand their views and feel more confident in defending them amongst others. You can even role play conversations to get some practice. This is definitely uncomfortable at first. (I would know. I’ve had to do this MANY times for work.) But it’s one of the most effective ways to learn, and your members will appreciate that at the end of the day.
Also, I highly recommend opening up the floor for discussions after your lecture. You will surely gain valuable insights from the minds of others, and have the opportunity to address questions you wouldn’t have thought of yourself. This also allows the group to interact with each other. Members will get to know one another, engaging in civil debates and even brainstorming some action ideas for your club going forward. Plus, if your meeting is all lecture, you’re just asking for someone to fall asleep. (Hey, they’ve been in class all day. Give ’em a break. (; )
Pro-tip #5: People like to hear themselves talk, so let them. But be sure to moderate the conversations so they remain civil, productive, and not another drawn out mini-lecture.
Lectures with discussions are a tried and true activity for our club. Like I’ve said, what we do may not work for your club, but it’s been effective for us. I assure you it’s at least worth a try.
6. Don’t Forget the Announcements
A great way to conclude your meeting is with announcements and reminders. For us, this usually entails what officer positions are open, upcoming events, and when/where our next meeting is.
Pro-tip #6: End on time. (This is something I still struggle with.) Trust me, your members will appreciate not having to worry about getting up while you’re talking. They don’t want to draw the attention and you don’t need the distraction. People may have classes, work, or just a long drive home, so make a schedule and stick to it as best you can.
If possible, depending on the time of your meeting, invite everyone to lunch or dinner immediately afterwards. This is a great opportunity to build the social bonds of your club, further integrate new members, and even brainstorm in a more casual and fun environment. You and some of your officers may want to stick around at the meeting to talk to the newcomers, socialize a bit, and answer any questions that may arise. But moving the party to a fresh location can energize your group even further beyond the confines of your meeting room or campus. Besides, we could all use a little time to de-stress!
What do you do to make your club meetings a success? Let me know in the comment section down below!
Twitter and Instagram: @ladyliberty333
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Email: brookelaurenpaz@gmail.com
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Lady Liberty 