MU officially welcomed 23 new student organizations to its campus Wednesday, Oct. 5, upon approval by the Committee on Student Organizations, Government and Activities.
“We’ve heard from more groups trying to get started this semester than we’ve ever had before,” said Ashley Todd, vice chairwoman of administration for the Organization Resource Group.
One new organization is the Wilderness Medical Society, created by second-year medical student Joey Garrity for the purpose of educating members on medicine from a different perspective than what is taught in the medical school.
“If you’re out in the middle of nowhere with no modern medicine we have now, you’re using what’s around you to help out,” Garrity said
There are currently about 50 students in the group, although none are undergraduate students. Garrity said the club is open to undergraduates and it would give them a good idea of the ways to treat someone when modern tools are not available.
“A lot of the topics we cover are basic first aid and other stuff you might possibly run into when you are on a vacation or exercising or doing outdoor activities,” he said.
The MU Wilderness Medical Society is in the process of regaining national membership, as it became defunct last year, but is making a comeback this school year.
Another new organization making its name on campus is the Film Production Club, which accepts students from a wide variety of majors and interests. President DJ Shewmaker said the club is looking for people in every aspect of the film-making process, including writers, editors, directors, actors and crew members.
“Pretty much anyone you can find in a film-making industry, we will have something for them when they come in our club,” he said.
The club’s primary goals are to educate students interested in film production, create opportunities for students to get involved in productions through funding and eventually produce a number of films every semester.
“I feel as if we are providing a necessary outlet for creativity here at Mizzou,” Shewmaker said.
Shewmaker said there are about 70 people who have said they want to be active participants within the organization. The club’s second meeting is Thursday in Strickland Hall.
“We accept anybody that wants to join,” Shewmaker said. “In fact, a lot of us are from different disciplines.”
There are currently 660 organizations at MU. Todd said the Organization Resource Group tries to ensure that each group’s purpose is not narrow enough that it only targets a few members.
“We hate to see that happen because we want groups to have longevity and stay around,” she said.
Todd said some of the perks of being an official organization on campus include the opportunity to apply for funding, the advantage of reserving rooms on campus for meetings and permission to use the Mizzou trademark.
Some of the other new organizations include the MU Aquarium Club, Mizzou Competitive Dance Team, Council of Student Social Workers and Beef Advocates of Mizzou.
