As club sports express concerns with their support from the University, it rings a bell to exactly what The Tiger and Tiger Media as a whole went through not too long ago.
In 2018, the University was considering the current student organization policy that creates three levels of recognition for student clubs.
First are Delegated Student Organizations, which are considered a part of the University and receive the most support.
Second are Independent Councils, which are recognized by the University but are legally separate, and maintain oversight over Independent Student Organizations.
Third are ISOs, which are recognized by the University but fully separate.
Many student organizations, including The Tiger, Tiger Media and some club sports, were previously recognized as being more affiliated with the University than they were immediately after the changes were announced.
As a DSO, organizations are required to have a paid faculty advisor, but as an ISO, they are not.
For club sports, this meant that once their current advisor was no longer employed at Clemson, they were not replaced. And for The Tiger and Tiger Media back in 2018, this meant the same.
In May 2018, Tiger Media’s previous advisor accepted a job at another school and the University decided to not rehire the position.
This left the group of organizations in shambles as they struggled to make up for the loss of an advisor who provided an essential backbone. The Tiger stopped printing temporarily in the fall. TAPS printed its last edition.
Not too soon after, the University announced that The Tiger and Tiger Media would be moving under its Department of Communication as DSOs and our current advisor, Miss Wanda Johnson, would be hired.
This was a sigh of relief that has enabled us to rebuild to where we are today. However, while I appreciate the University’s extension of their support to us, I must acknowledge the uneasy similarities between our situation and that of club sports.
David Ferrara is a senior economics and philosophy major from Shelton, Connecticut, and the former editor-in-chief of The Tiger. David can be reached at [email protected].