SAIL rolls out stricter standards for clubs

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Written By Alex Grubbs, USG Beat Writer

Some clubs and organizations may be considered inactive next school year due to a new set of guidelines.

Kate Shipley, assistant coordinator for Student, Activities, Involvement and Engagement (SAIL), said at Monday’s United Student Government (USG) meeting that organizations must reach six guidelines if seeking to remain active into the 2017-2018 school year.

The six guidelines detailed out in this campaign are: having a president and treasurer, following the student code of conduct, having a positive holding account balance, attending officer training and transitions, attending one-on-one sessions with SAIL and completing all transition forms. This is part of SAIL’s “Good Standing Campaign.”

“If that’s not completed, that shows us you’re not truly interested in being a leader on campus,” Shipley said, citing that the checklist is one of the easiest requirements to run an organization on campus.

However, she added that clubs and organizations that do not reach guidelines are still eligible to become active and recognized.

“This isn’t a death sentence for a club, but it means they’re inactive until that checklist is completed,” Shipley said. “So if for example, if the only thing they’re missing is the officer information, then once they submit it to [SAIL], they’re ready to go.”

Following the announcement, USG approved two organizations. It reinstated Society of Professional Journalists, an organization dedicated to freedom of the press and to unite journalists, after a year of being inactive.

Point Park University Theatrical Theatre Club, a club to unite theatre production majors and to promote theatrical productions at the Pittsburgh Playhouse, was also approved.

Felicia McKinney, Point Park’s social media manager, also joined USG as a guest speaker to explain responsible social media use and how the university reaches out with their online presence.

McKinney posed five questions using the acronym THINK: Is it true? Is it hurtful? Is it illegal? Is it necessary? Is it kind?

She also showed an example of how fast a picture can go viral. She posted a picture on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn holding a sign that read, “This is a private Snapchat photo. Please like, share and comment where you are and help me find students show private this photo is.”

According to McKinney, the post reached 37 states and 30 countries within the first 24 hours.

“For me to go back, even after a day to delete this, after it had made it around the world, what good does that do me?” McKinney asked. “Everyone has seen my face. Everyone has seen what message this might be.”

According to her, negative photos and posts online can easily become viral and showed how hard it would be to delete it after it has reached so many people. She also said it can also affect how the university is represented through these type of posts.

“The better Point Park looks [through social media] and continues to look, the better your degree will ultimately become,” McKinney said.

Social media at the university also uses several “strategic” hashtags to show what the school has to offer from a variety of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram posts, as well as its Snapchat Takeover engagement, where a student takes over the University’s Snapchat account for a day to share their personal experiences.

USG also amended its minutes to change the funding period start date to Oct. 31 from a further November date.

The USG finance committee is holding five funding sessions, of which senators are required to attend three, for the upcoming funding period.