On October 24, rumors about a new Student Organizations Policy were leaked to students and members of the Clemson community by WeRoar, a Clemson-oriented free speech advocacy group. This new policy concerns all Clemson affiliated organizations, ranging from Greek life and student-led clubs, to student government, and everything in between.

As of now, little information is known about what the implications may be, or what the new policy may bring for students organizations in the upcoming year. Along with this, the proposal is currently 45 pages long so we set out to break down the important aspects of the policy, point by point with the information we presently have concerning the matter.

USLPS:

“A University Student Life Program (USLP) is an organization comprised exclusively of Clemson University students whose activities, operations, and decision-making processes are directly governed by academic or administrative departments and for which the University is responsible. USLPs perform duties Clemson University would otherwise seek to perform on its own.” (pg.3)

• This USLP acronym would potentially encompass a select group of current on campus organizations affiliated with Clemson, out of the current 500+ organizations. Many of the decisions about funding and other organization matters could be dealt with by advisors appointed by the “academic or administrative departments”, meaning students comprising student organizations may not be able to govern the very organizations they are a part of. These organizations are those with which Clemson would already be performing the duties they serve. This could mean a variety of things in terms of who would be chosen and who would not.

“Private space use is a privilege and is not guaranteed for USLPs from year to year. USLPs granted private space must sign a License Agreement annually with Student Involvement and Leadership. The License Agreement will outline the terms and conditions of space use on campus, including that the USLPs use of University space is non transferable and may be revoked by the University at any time.” (pg.4)

• With this, on-campus meetings and events could potentially be more of a challenge to hold for organizations. Not allowing Clemson-affiliated student organizations to hold events on Clemson’s campus is a point of contention for some; many believe that it takes away from the entire point of having a Clemson-affiliated organization to begin with. Others believe that the policy would mean that even if an organization were to be given “private space”, it would most likely be shared with other organizations.

CICS:

“CICs shall not represent themselves as agents of Clemson University or use names, logos, symbols, or seals of the University without the expressed written consent of Clemson University. Contracted Independent Councils may not include Clemson University or CU in front of the group’s name. (pg.4)”

• CICs are Contracted Independent Councils, which mean they are a “voluntary association of Clemson University students that formally affiliate with the University.” These Clemson-affiliated organizations are essentially getting told that they cannot have the same affiliation with Clemson University that they had before. This clause in the policy is contradicting to say the least, and has been a source of much confusion for many student leaders who believe they would fall under this category

CISO:

“A Contracted Independent Student Organization (CISO) is a voluntary association of Clemson University students recognized by the University. CISOs must be comprised exclusively of Clemson University students. (pg.6)”

• Many students believe that CISOs would primarily include Greek Life and Club Sports. The new policy proposal would place new restrictions on Greek Life, Club Sports and other organizations concerning advisors, funding, membership, meeting spaces, travel, and GPA requirements. However, the use of the Clemson name for CISOs is now defined as: “CISOs shall not represent themselves as agents of Clemson University or use names, logos, symbols, or seals of the University without expressed written consent. Contracted Independent Student Organizations may not include Clemson University or CU in front of the group’s name.” Many students view this area of the policy as contradicting to the general values of Clemson.

“Certified Student Leader sessions– training available towards the Certified Student Leader recognition. To be eligible to request funding from the Student Funding Board, an organization must have a Certified Student Leader as a member of their executive board. (pg.11)”

• In order to be in a leadership role of any capacity, one has to go through extensive training. This training is outlined in Appendix F, and it includes filling out forms, attending orientation sessions, attending programs, going to career counseling, and performing five hours of community service. This can be beneficial for the organization and leadership, but it can be a hassle as well. Student leaders have many questions as to when these requirements would be implemented and worry for what it means for the future growth of student leadership in organizations.

All in all, the proposed Clemson University Student Organization Policy is a thorough restructuring and review of both on and off-campus organizations. It holds leadership accountable in organizations and lays out the groundwork for what is seemingly a massive overhaul of student-led organizations. Hopefully in the upcoming weeks, the student body will learn more about the policy changes and what they would mean for every single club and organization on campus. Until then, there has been, and continues to be, continued effort on the part of students to ask questions of the school officials responsible for the changes and to fight to have their voices heard.

The Tiger has been working to validate sources and is making sure that all information presented is correct. This summarization is merely an interpretation of the proposed policy from a student’s point of view. If you want to read the policy and form your own opinions concerning the matter, here is the link. https://bit.ly/2RmNwBv

If you have any information concerning this, please get in touch with The Tiger at either [email protected]  or [email protected] .