Dear Penn Undergraduates,
By now, many of you have found a home at Penn – a club, organization, or group of people to count on, to go to with good news and bad, or to spend time with at any hour of the day. For most of you, though, you are still searching for your place here on campus. We at the Student Activities Council are here to tell you, no matter what your situation at the present time, you will find a home at Penn.
We value the ability of Penn students to affiliate so well in such strong circles. The clubs that Penn students have generated over the years have accomplished so much – winning championships, pioneering innovation, celebrating culture, and giving back to the Philadelphia and surrounding communities, just to name a few accomplishments. We celebrate the fact that our University encourages student associations to thrive as well as they do, but recognize the fact that some things about the club culture here need to change.
For the past few years now, SAC has been working with the Undergraduate Assembly and the Office of Student Affairs to address concerns of problems in club recruitment. We have found that some clubs are often competitive to get into, practice insensitive rejection methods, or are not acting as upstanding citizens of the Penn community. The majority of clubs here do not fit this mold, and are exemplars of inclusion and extracurricular productivity. Our hope with this Guide to Club Recruitment is to add a layer of transparency to the recruitment process for new students, or returning students who are looking to try something new.
This is a work in progress, and is by no means an exhaustive list of all clubs at Penn. We begin here by documenting those clubs that participated in the 2018 Fall Activities Fair. We were inspired by similar products by the Wharton Council, and aspire to provide similar information in this website. Know that this is just the beginning of the movement, and is a small step toward ensuring that clubs at Penn are welcoming, inclusive, and impactful for all. So to those of you who have not yet found your home, keep up the search. Use this Guide as a start to your journey, and be sure to reach out to us at SAC for more information. Together, we can change the culture of club recruitment at Penn, and provide an outlet for every Penn student to find their home.
Yours,
The Student Activities Council