Getting more money for club activities from the Student Association, co-sponsoring events with fellow clubs and creating a club directory to facilitate communication between the student groups were among the issues discussed by the members of the Congress for Club Presidents at their recent meeting. The CCP is comprised of all the presidents of Queens College’s more than 100 clubs, and about 60 attended the meeting.
Jordan Mendoza, chairman of the CCP and president of the Gender, Love and Sexuality Alliance, said he wants to encourage clubs to work together on various events, a goal he expressed when he assumed the chairman’s role.
A primary concern for the club representatives who spoke at the meeting was the necessity of getting funding for their events either through co-sponsorships or through Student Association SAEF funding.
“You gotta be mindful, your money is limited,” said Japneet Singh, president of the Student Association.
The SAEF budget is determined by the Student Services Corporation. Then the Student Association doles out the funds to clubs that apply for funding and are approved. Singh said the SAEF budget has been cut regularly every year. It’s currently designated at $30,000, down from $80,000 only several years ago.
“A lot of people don’t know the CCP exists and what it provides for clubs,” said Melody Panigua, the assistant director of student development and leadership.
Panigua has taken on the role of overseeing the CCP after gaining the assistant director position at Queens College. She believes her office can be a useful resource for all the clubs on campus.
“My goal is to be the point of contact for these clubs,” Panigua said. “I want the office of Student Development and Leadership] to be a resource more than we have been in the past.”
She also believes that the CCP will be able to help the Student Development office.
“I’ll be taking things from CCP to improve the goals of the Student Development,” she said.
The Student Development Office plans to create a club directory to allow clubs to communicate with each other more easily. The Student Association also plans to host a sports mixer to award extra funding for clubs and a club mixer to promote clubs’ working with one another.
