Notre Dame Club Coordination Council

The Notre Dame Club Coordination Council (or simply the Club Coordination Council or the CCC) is the branch of the Student Union of the University of Notre Dame responsible for communicating issues facing undergraduate club issues, providing funding for undergraduate clubs, serving as the representative body of undergraduate student clubs, and working with student clubs to ensure that clubs can coordinate their programming of activities.[1][3][4] The CCC is responsible for overseeing around 400 student clubs,[5] each of which serve a unique purpose.[6] The Club Coordination Council contains six divisions[7] that each represent different groups of clubs, namely Academic, Athletic, Cultural, Performing Arts, Social Service, and Special Interest.[8] The approval of the council, along with that of the Notre Dame Student Activities Office, is a requirement for official recognition of student clubs.[9][10][11][12][13][14]

Club Coordination Council
PurposeTo "disseminate information concerning undergraduate club issues and activities, recommend funding allocations for all undergraduate clubs, serve as a representative of all undergraduate clubs, and coordinate cohesive club programming."[1]
Location
Membership
30 representatives, six division chairs, and four executive board members
President
Ricardo Pozas Garca
Vice-President
Nicholas Poole
Controller
Sarah Zabala
Secretary
Hailey Maggelet
Key people
Frank Byrd (Division Chair)
Elton Zhang (Division Chair)
David Kim (Division Chair)
Spencer Buzdon (Division Chair)
Maddie Tupy (Division Chair)
Susan Peters (Division Chair)
Budget (2019)
$360,000 [2]
Websiteccc.nd.edu

History
The LaFortune Student Center, the historic building out of which the CCC is based

In recent years, the Club Coordination Council has become a vocal organization in the Notre Dame community. In 2014, when the council was mired in relative obscurity, the then-President Jimmy McEntee sought to make the council more widely-recognized through public transparency. In December 2014, he said "Many people do not know that this council exists, let alone what it does so by being transparent we will raise awareness of the CCC and help to provide insight into how we operate."[15] During that year, the Club Coordination Council became responsible for funding Notre Dame's club sports,[16] moving several organizations, some of which were founded as early as 1923[17] under their funding umbrella. Previously, the Notre Dame Department of Athletics had helped to defray the costs of club sports.

There are currently a wide variety of student clubs on campus, including nine for students from different states,[18] about three dozen clubs that represent different nationalities and origins,[19] as well as clubs dedicated to Catholic theology,[20] diverse faith practices, social service, political advocacy and awareness,[21] competitive athletics,[22] professional development and networking, performing arts, academic debate, foreign affairs, fraternal brotherhood, women's empowerment, and many other interests.[23]


Club Funding

In 2003, the Club Coordination Council came under fire after multiple student clubs received cuts to their funding. [24] For the 2003 fiscal year, the Council was responsible for providing funding to about 200 student clubs, of which all but 45 made funding requests. The council was able to allocate $286,258 to clubs (an increase from $258,194 in 2002), though several clubs received budget cuts due to an increase in the total number of clubs.

Due to changes in the constitution of the Notre Dame Student Union during the 2005-2006 fiscal year, the total amount of funding allocated to clubs was cut approximately 9.5% during the 2005-2006 academic year (during which clubs received 36.75% of all Student Union funds available for disbursement)[25] and the 2006-2007 academic year (during which that clubs were designated to receive 33% of Student Union funds available for disbursement).[26][27] Then-President of the Club Coordination Council, Beth O’Shaughnessy, proposed an amendment to the student senate to restore club funding to its previous status. During the senate debate on the proposed amendment, a student noted that funds were easily available to cover all expenses for his club, and the amendment failed by consensus. As a result, the cuts to club funding were made effective for the 2006-2007 academic year.

Beginning in 2008, partisan clubs became eligible for funding from the Club Coordination Council. Each recognized partisan club must receive the same amount of funds as each other partisan club in a given year.[21]

Over the next dozen years, the number of clubs rapidly expanded. By 2011, the University of Notre Dame recognized 250 clubs.[28][29] By 2013, the number of clubs recognized increased to 300.[30] During the 2018-2019 academic year, Notre Dame recognized 400 active student clubs. [31]

Student Government Groups and Funding

At the end of the 2018-2019 academic year, Student Government organizations reported a $77,000 surplus of unspent funds. [32]During the 2019-2020 academic year, the Notre Dame Student Union Board was provided funding to cover 77% of its expenses, while the CCC was given enough money to cover 16% of club expenses. [32] The total amount split between clubs and Student Government organizations sums to just over $900,000.[32]

Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football Game Day Concession Stands

The Club Coordination Council is responsible for allocating concession stands to student groups on days where Notre Dame hosts a home football game.[33] These allocations are based on a club's demonstrated need, and clubs are able to use the profits from the stands to fund club events throughout the academic year.[33]

Club Approvals

The Club Coordination Council is partially responsible for the approval of new clubs at the University of Notre Dame.[7][34]

The amount of club applications received by the CCC varies significantly from year to year. In 2003, over 300 groups applied for recognition at the University of Notre Dame.[35] A mere three years later, in the fall of 2006, only 15 club applications were submitted.[34]

Controversy

In the spring of 2014, the CCC denied[10][11] recognition to Students for Child Oriented Policy, a student group whose goal was described by its advisor as a club which sought "to do in public policy about the family exactly what the Church has asked all Catholics to do: namely, to do what it can to make sure that children are raised by their mother and their father and to make this case in the public square on reasonable grounds accessible to anyone who cares to think about the issues".[9] The Club Coordination Council claimed that the club was denied because it "closely mirrored"[10] the mission an purpose of an already existing club. The decision drew criticism from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which wrote that the Club Coordination Council's "rationale is often cited pretextually to prevent a politically unpopular group from gaining recognition,"[12] and that the justification provided in the group's denial was, "bogus".[13]

References
  1. The University of Notre Dame Student Union. "Constitution of the Undergraduate Student Body of the University of Notre Dame du Lac" (PDF). University of Notre Dame Student Government. University of Notre Dame. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  2. Donnelly, Mary Clare. "Senate resolution aims to increase transparency with Club Coordination Council". The Observer. The Observer. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  3. Hogan, Becky (11 December 2008). "Club Coordination Council distributes funds". The Observer.
  4. Schrank, Emily (19 April 2011). "Clubs thrive at Notre Dame". The Observer.
  5. University of Notre Dame Student Activities Office. "Student Groups". SAO360. University of Notre Dame Division of Student Affairs. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  6. University of Notre Dame Student Activities Office. "Prospective Groups". Student Activities Office. University of Notre Dame Division of Student Affairs. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  7. LaLonde, Becca (24 January 2008). "Gaining club status made easier". The Observer.
  8. McKenna, Matthew. "Club Coordination Council updates bylaws, allocates funding to clubs". Observer Online. The Observer. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  9. Fraga, Brian (19 May 2014). "Pro-Marriage Club Denied Official Status at Notre Dame". National Catholic Register. EWTN News, Inc. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  10. Fox News (20 May 2014). "Notre Dame won't recognize 'traditional marriage' student club". FoxNews.com. FOX News Network, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  11. VanBerkum, John (14 September 2014). "Questionable Decisions: A Catholic University?". Irish Rover. The Irish Rover. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  12. Bonilla, Peter (23 May 2014). "FIRE Letter to University of Notre Dame Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C." Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.
  13. McLaughlin, Sarah (24 June 2014). "FIRE Has Seen Notre Dame's Redundancy Argument Before". Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.
  14. Gryboski, Michael (21 May 2014). "Notre Dame University Refuses to Recognize Pro-Traditional Marriage Student Group". The Christian Post.
  15. Mullen, Kayla (December 12, 2014). "Council revamps internal structure, updates policies". The Observer. The Observer. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  16. Nash, Casey (September 18, 2014). "Recsports Moves from Athletics Department to Student Affairs". Scholastic. 158 (2). University of Notre Dame. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  17. Retter, Eric (March 18, 2005). "Bengal Bouts: From Nappy to Now". The Observer. Archived from the original on January 11, 2009. Retrieved December 17, 2007.
  18. Dugan, Michael (September 25, 2018). "State clubs help students feel at home at Notre Dame". The Observer. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  19. Pott, Andrew (December 8, 2015). "Diversity council in the wrong?". The Observer. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  20. Everett, Liz (October 28, 2012). "New club on campus: Theology Club". Irish Rover. The Irish Rover. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  21. McMahon, Joseph (19 September 2008). "Notre Dame Political Groups Receive University Funding". CBS News.
  22. Jorgensen, Rasmus (5 July 2018). "Irish Rugby... and Irish Rugby". Notre Dame Magazine. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  23. "Groups". SAO360. University of Notre Dame Student Activities Office. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  24. Maureen, Reynolds (17 October 2003). "CCC raises questions on money". The Observer. The Observer. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  25. Conley, Alicia (10 October 2005). "CCC works to fairly distribute club funding". The Observer. The Observer. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  26. Malone, Mary Kate (23 February 2006). "Readership Stirs Controversy". The Observer. The Observer. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  27. Langley, Karen (2 March 2006). "Senators reject CCC's proposed amendment". The Observer. The Observer. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  28. Shrank, Emily (19 April 2011). "Clubs Thrive at Notre Dame". The Observer. The Observer. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  29. Iati, Marisa (6 September 2011). "University approves 28 new student clubs". The Observer. The Observer. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  30. Ducey, Charlie (4 September 2013). "Student Activities Night showcases extra-curriculars". The Observer. The Observer. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  31. Redsten, Genevieve (5 February 2019). "Senate rejects resolution to increase club funding". The Observer. The Observer. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  32. Dugan, Michael (10 October 2019). "Clubs Deserve Respect". The Irish Rover (Volume XVII, Issue IV). Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  33. Weber, Natalie (27 October 2017). "Game day concession stands provide fundraising opportunities for student groups". The Observer. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  34. Duffy, Eileen (2 November 2006). "Groups apply for club status". The Observer.
  35. Dyer, Ashley (10 October 2003). "Multi-campus clubs increase". The Observer.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.