FCC Clubs struggle to find new members

There are currently 43 active clubs and organizations at Fresno City College but while there may be many clubs to choose from, some clubs struggle to gain or keep their current members.

ASG Pro Tempore, Victoria Mosby, says that students should not join clubs for the sake of the club itself, but for the sake of themselves personally. Mosby argues that club participation increases student success and gives valuable information to students.

Mosby claims that poor club participation results in less activities and ultimately no club rush. She says it is important for students to be exposed to the various clubs on campus because it promotes diversity among students.

Not only is club participation a good way to interact with other students, it is also, according to Mosby, a good way to learn about each other and the different cultures of each student.

The Native American Intertribal Students Association or N.A.I.S.A. is the oldest club at Fresno City College according their Inter Club Council Representative, Amberlonh Truang. Truang says that students wanting to join the club do not have to be Native American, which is what most students do not know and thus don’t take part in clubs.

Despite other clubs not being able to meet the quorum to hold official meetings, Truang says that participation in their club has been fairly good.

The Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan or  M.E.Ch.A club at Fresno City College has seen very poor participation compared to only a couple years ago.

“Communication is the key,” said Rosanna Montoya, Vice President and Secretary of the M.E.Ch.A club,“and you have to have a set of officers who are willing to commit.” Rosanna explained what a club needs in order to maintain good participation among its members.

She went on to say that a club also needs a strong leadership base that starts with the advisor and goes all the way down to the ICC Representative. She credits the poor participation to a lack of communication.

When Montoya first came to FCC, she admits M.E.Ch.A was a very inactive club but she quickly learned from club officers at that time that it used to be a very vibrant, active and recognized club on campus.

Things have changed for the club and it has experienced a decrease in participation and a low amount of members who attend the weekly Wednesday meetings.

For the M.E.Ch.A club, the struggle to gain members goes on with hopes of once again becoming the club it used to be.

“Right now we are trying to gain members by having each officer or members or even people who are interested in the club go to classes and advertise the club” said Montoya.

It’s a different story for the FCC Volunteer Club. The Volunteer Club meets weekly and has five regular members according to their ICC Representative Silvia Hewy.

However, while other clubs struggle to gain members and get them to attend meetings, Hewy says that regular meetings are not mandatory for any of the Volunteer Club members.

Hewy said, “We have meeting dates, but its not mandatory to show up.”