Kenyon Collegian

Issue date: 11/13/08 Section: Features

Media Credit: Not taken by but courtesy of Sasha Holston Tea Society member Sasha Holston '11 samples Lipton Bedtime Story tea.

To start a new organization, a group founder or founders must write a mission statement and a constitution outlining their goals as an organization, rules for how meetings run, the choosing of club officers and membership. Along with the founding rules and goals, the potential new club must be able to show an interest among the student body. The group founder or founders must then get 12 signatures from members of each class in the student body. Finally, the group must attend a hearing with the Student Life Committee. With approval, a club becomes official and may ask for a budget from the Budget and Finances Committee. This semester, there are a handful of new organizations, some which have actually been around before. Among the new organizations are:

Quidditch

Last spring, Liz Gottmer '10 saw a YouTube video in which Middlebury College's "Muggle Quidditch Team" was showcased, a real-life, albeit less fantastical version, of the flying-broom sport that Harry Potter plays. She was inspired to bring the same thing to Kenyon and clicked on the link to sign up for the league-the Intercollegiate Quidditch Association. The Ohio State University and Oberlin College also have teams in the League, among the many others nationally and internationally. Unfortunately, Gottmer was too late to apply for organization approval last semester, but she was able to get all the materials ready and was approved as a club this semester. So far, the membership is at 40, of which 12 came to the first meeting. "But if I e-mailed and said we would be out on Ransom Lawn with broomsticks and balls, there would be a huge number to show up," said Gottmer.

At this point, that is all the club is waiting for. Once they have equipment-brooms, flat volleyballs for the quaffles and playground balls for bludgers-they will be set.

"Right now," Gottmer said, "everyone just keeps saying, 'I just want to play.'"



Gables

"There is a huge underground gay community at Kenyon," said the current president of Gables, who preferred to remain anonymous out of respect to the nature of the group. Gables is an organization based on providing a support group and social base for people not ready to come out yet. The group was originally founded around 2001 but eventually petered out and had to be revamped last year.

Continued...

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