Uni High - Student Clubs & Organizations

6.5 STUDENT CLUBS & ORGANIZATIONS

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Procedures for Forming a Club — All student clubs and organizations must be approved by Student Council. Students who want to form a new club at Uni High should first develop their ideas and decide the club’s name, its purpose, how often it will meet and what, if any, funds are needed. Student organizers also will need to find a faculty member who will agree to sponsor the club and be present at EVERY meeting or to find a faculty substitute when that is not possible. The group must then obtain an official club recognition form from the Student Council Secretary-Treasurer and have the proposed faculty sponsor sign the form.

The student leaders of the proposed club will be asked to appear at a meeting of the Student Council to present their plans, including any requests for financial assistance. (Generally, the student leaders of the proposed club and the proposed faculty sponsor are asked to leave after the presentation so Student Council members can discuss the proposal.) The Student Council then votes on whether or not to approve the club. In some circumstances, the approval of the Director/Principal also is required. Student clubs are also encouraged to establish bylaws for their organization.

All Uni students pay a student activity fee as part of their annual registration fees. That fee becomes the Student Council treasury and is allocated to various groups and for various projects throughout the year — including Spirit Week and Disorientation Picnic, etc. A form for clubs to use in requesting funds from Student Council can be obtained in the Main Office.

note: Clubs and organizations that approach Student Council to request funds usually are encouraged to try to raise part or all their own funds unless the activity or purchase for which funds are being sought will benefit or positively impact the entire student body.

All clubs are expected to follow the code of student conduct found in Section 7 of this handbook.

Club Equal Access Act — The University of Illinois Laboratory High School has established a limited open forum by allowing non-curriculum related student groups to meet. The U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted “non-curriculum related student group” as any student group that does not directly relate to the body of courses offered by the school.

The Equal Access Act prohibits the school from denying fair opportunity or “equal access” to students who wish to conduct a meeting within a limited open forum on the basis of the religious, political, philosophical or other speech content at such a meeting. Non-curriculum related student groups may meet on school premises during non-instructional time. If the meeting is student-initiated and not a part of a school-sponsored activity, it must be conducted according to the following guidelines:

1. Attendance is voluntary;

2. The school will not participate in it;

3. School employees must be present at all meetings in a supervisory and non-participatory capacity;

4. It cannot materially and subsequently interfere with the orderly conduct of educational activities within the school;

5. Non-school persons may not direct, conduct, control, or regularly attend; and

6. The school retains its authority to maintain order and discipline.

All recognized groups may advertise their meetings in the Gargoyle, the weekly bulletin, and on bulletin boards. The assignment of a teacher or other school employees for custodial purposes does not constitute “sponsorship” of the meeting. The teacher or staff member is present to ensure the safety of the students and school property.

The following limitations exist for those school employees who supervise religious groups. They must:

1. Not participate in the meetings;

2. Not put their name on any signs or advertising meetings for group functions;

3. Not wear any clothing that advertises the groups when with Uni students;

4. Not promote the groups in any way

The school reserves the authority to deny permission to hate groups, gangs, cults or to any group whose conduct is disruptive or threatens student well-being.

Club Sponsor Responsibilities — Uni High clubs and organizations are sponsored by faculty members. Club sponsors are to:

• Oversee and be present at all activities of the club and organization.

• Attend all club and organization activities. The sponsors should arrange for substitutes if unable to attend club and organization functions. Sponsors are to be present at all club and organization activities from the time a student first arrives to the time the last student is picked up.

• Complete all official paperwork (letters, reports, weekly calendar, field trip permission slips, etc.) on behalf of the club and organization.

• Act as a liaison between the club or organization and Uni High.

• Help develop responsible actions and decisions on the part of the students.

• Report any problematic club and organization activities to the Assistant Director.

• See that the student conduct code is upheld.

Fiscal Guidelines — All money collected or raised by student organizations and clubs must be delivered to Uni High School’s Office Manager, who will deposit the money and credit the account of the student organization or club. The student treasurer of the organization or club is responsible for maintaining a record of financial transactions. No written statement is supplied to the organization, but the treasurer may at any time ask for the current balance in the account. The student treasurer is responsible for periodically giving a financial report to the organization or club. Interest generated from student accounts goes into the Student Reserve Account. Clubs not active for 2 years will have accounts transferred to the Student Reserve Account.

All expenditures from the account must be authorized by the club or organization before payment can be made. When there are expenses to be paid, the treasurer must present a list of these expenses to the organization or club for authorization to pay the expenses. To verify authorization, the faculty sponsor must sign off on all payments made from the account. Faculty sponsors are also responsible for overseeing the request and expenditure of club and organization funds and for ensuring that accurate, detailed records of the financial transactions are kept.

At times, student organizations may ask local businesses to donate gift certificates or prizes to be given away at student events. Student organizations should acknowledge these businesses with a thank you note from the organization. The student organization should also notify the Director of Development. This also applies to individuals who donate their time to the school or to a specific student organization.

School organizations must obtain permission from the Assistant Director for food or merchandise sales. Requests must be made at least one week in advance. Forms are available in the Main Office.

Copying Privileges — With the approval of their sponsors, student clubs and organizations may have a copy code number assigned to them. Each club or organization may appoint two members to be designated copiers. These two students are the only members who will be allowed to use the copier. The cost (3 cents per copy) will be charged to the club or organization’s account.

Student Mail Aliases — The use of the student mail aliases services is encouraged if you have information that is legitimately of interest to an entire class or the whole student body. We want you to be able to use this electronic medium as a replacement for, or supplement to, posters, locker notes and in-class announcements.

You can send messages to any of the following class aliases to use this delivery method:

subfreshmen for: subfreshman class members

freshmen for: freshman class members

sophomores for: sophomore class members

juniors for: junior class members

seniors for: senior class members

students for: all students at Uni

staff for: all faculty, counselors, secretaries and administrators at Uni

If you are sending from an off-campus computer, add “@uni.uiuc.edu” to your address.

When you send a message to any of the lists above, it will be forwarded to the system administrator’s mailbox. After reviewing the message, a copy will be sent to the appropriate class mailing list. All messages must comply with the Uni High Computer Usage Agreement. Questionable messages will be sent to the Assistant Director for approval/disapproval for release.

Due to the system administrator’s schedule and the need to screen all messages, there will be a delay between your sending a message and its posting to the final recipients. On normal school days, the system’s administrator checks the system’s mailbox several times a day, so the delay will not be more than a few hours. After hours or on weekends, messages may not be delivered until the beginning of the next school day.