As the academic year wraps up and summer approaches, the University of Minnesota’s newest clubs are already setting their sights on the upcoming semester.
With dozens of additions to the University’s network of more than 1,000 student organizations, new and emerging clubs are eagerly planning to raise awareness and strengthen their presence on campus come fall.
Minorities in STEM
Omar Elkhateeb, a first-year student majoring in electrical engineering and president of Minorities in STEM, a club that officially started at the beginning of April, said outreach has been the primary focus in the few weeks the club has been active this semester.
“We are just working on getting our name out there and letting people know about it,” Elkhateeb said. “We have made social media posts, recruited some people and now we’ve just been doing board applications.”
The club aims to provide a supportive environment for minority students pursuing careers in STEM. Elkhateeb said he hopes the club will help students engage with others who share similar backgrounds and interests in the industry and be a source of motivation through hosting professional development events.
Future plans for the fall include hosting networking dinners, LinkedIn optimization and resume workshops. Elkhateeb said the club hopes to meet each week and provide educational resources for students in STEM that combat stereotypes and ultimately support diversity on campus.
“I want to get rid of what people may think are external factors, and I want to bring the help to them,” Elkhateeb said. “It took so much time and research and networking and talking to people to find a lot of the resources that I found, and now I want to make them easier for others to find so that we can all succeed.”
Go Skate Club
Revson Hill, a third-year transfer student to the University, started the Go Skate Club in January after finding out that a skateboarding group did not already exist. With a community of people passionate about skating on campus, Hill said the club has experienced positive growth since its first meeting.
Go Skate now has over 50 members and meets every two weeks, offering activities for beginner and experienced skateboarders.
“We want to make it inclusive to everybody,” Hill said. “Not just people who skateboard, but also people who want to learn, people who want to film, people who are photographers.”
Beyond just skating, Hill said he and the club’s board aim to make the club a social opportunity for people to connect and make new friends. Outside of organized activities, informal meet-ups are organized through social media and the club hopes to organize more community events in the coming year.
Hill said he is excited to see the club continue to collaborate, potentially partner with local skate shops in the future and market more to increase visibility on campus.
Collective Against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
Staël Kpetsu, a first-year student and president of the Collective Against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, founded in March, said that as a student group focused on sexual and domestic violence education, the group hopes to provide an informal way for students to learn more about these issues.
“Outside of the Aurora Center, we don’t really have something for students run by students,” Kpetsu said. “I feel like it’s a great way to connect students with the center and also to help them learn more in a casual way.”
With the help of an Undergraduate Student Government event grant, the Collective held its first event at the end of April, which involved writing letters to survivors of sexual and domestic violence at the Women’s Advocates shelter in St. Paul.
The Collective hopes to collaborate with the Aurora Center in the fall, as well as high schools and middle schools in the area, to help educate students about consent and resources.
Science of Cannabis Club
Anders Peterson, a senior and president of the newly formed Science of Cannabis club, said both he and Jolie Vu, a senior and club vice-president, saw an opportunity to establish a cannabis-related club given cannabis legalization strides.
Peterson said with the help of faculty, alongside other club leadership, the club has been able to grow successfully. Science of Cannabis ultimately aims to expand on the educational and networking opportunities within the cannabis industry on campus, Peterson added.
“We want to get more people from different majors involved, so that we can really make it a more holistic experience for people who are interested in cannabis,” Peterson said.
This semester, the club held several meetings on specific topics in cannabis research, mainly exploring the science of the plant. In the coming year, the club hopes to provide its members with more opportunities to connect with industry professionals.
Vu said the ultimate goal for the club is to educate on the benefits and safety of cannabis while providing a safe space for learning about cannabis without the stigma often associated with it.
“We are focusing on the plant production side of cannabis,” Vu said. “It’s more of a horticultural club right now, but we definitely do want to talk about culturally, socially and legally, what the future of the cannabis industry looks like.”
