Frequently Asked Questions About CSLIS
Q: Where is the CSLIS office located?
A: We are located on the first floor on the Student Union. Once you come in the main entrance we are directly across from the US bank, through the large glass windows.
Q: What do I do if I want to start a club?
A: Five (5) members are needed to start a club on campus. Two of which need to be designated president and treasurer. The president and the treasurer MUST attend a chartering meeting. Along with having the minimum number of members, the club must find an SSU staff or faculty member to be the club's advisor, create a constitution, and create their organization portal on OrgSync.Q: What is chartering?
A: Chartering is the process you must go through in order to become an officially recognized student organization on campus. Chartering for new student organizations happens once in the fall and twice in the spring of each academic school year.
Benefits of becoming a chartered student organization on campus include:
- A mailbox in the CSLIS office or the Sports Club office (if you are sports club),
- Your organization will be listed in the online club & organization directory,
- Your organization will be approved to use a bank account with Associated Students (AS),
- Charge services, including:
- Printing of flyers and other materials through Campus Prints
- Banner reservations (Stevenson, Pub, Zinfandel)
- Box Office services for student events (tickets & wristbands)
- Event staff and set-up for student events
- Catering
- Reserve space on campus through Conference and Events Services... for free.
Q: What if I missed the Chartering Dates? Do I need to wait until the following semester to charter my club?
A: If you missed the chartering meeting to start a new club, then yes, you must wait until the next semester. If you are an existing club and you missed the meeting to re-charter you must wait one (1) semester to go through the re-chartering process. If your club is already chartered and you only need a new president or treasurer to go to a meeting, then come into the CSLIS office to schedule a meetingQ: What do we do if we elected a new President and/or Treasurer?
A: The new president and/or treasurer will need to come into the CSLIS office to find out the date for the next chartering meeting or to schedule an appointement to review the chartering presentation. At this meeting they will receive all forms that will need to be updated with new signatures. OrgSync will also need to be updated to reflect the changes.Q: What do we do if our Advisor changes?
A: Come into the CSLIS office to pick up the signature forms that will need to be updated. The organization page on OrgSync will also need to be updated.Q: What is this OrgSync thing you keep mentioning?
A: OrgSync is CSLIS's way to manage our student organizations. Similar to facebook, students create their own profile with their SSU gmail account. From there, students can join campus groups & organizations; access CSLIS, AS, and Campus Recreation forms; see what is happening in the campus community on the calendar; track community service hours at events; and numerous other things.
Q: How do I find out information on when clubs meet during the week?
A: On the CSLIS website, there is a club directory link that has all of the clubs listed. When you select a club you can see their meeting times and the contact information for the officers of the club to contact them via email.Q: How do I get involved in a club?
A: Go to the club directory and select a club you are interested in possibly joining. Read about the club on their profile and get the officers contact information from their website if you would like more information.Q: What is the difference between a local and a (inter)national sorority or fraternity?
A: (Inter)National sororities and fraternities are part of larger associations that have an established headquarters (typically with paid staff), collegiate and alumni/ae chapters throughout the nation, and are affiliated with an umbrella governing body. Examples of governing bodies include:
- the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) oversees 26 national sororities,
- the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) oversees a large number of national fraternities,
- the National Multicultural Greek Council (NMGC) oversees many latino/a based fraternity and sorority organizations, and
- the National Panhellenic Council (NPHC) works with the Divine Nine, tradtionally Black-Greek Letter organizations.
Each national group has a headquarters staff that provides guidance, documents, leadership opportunities, and programming in order to ensure the business aspects of their chapter are being accomplished. These (inter)national organizations also have larger alumni and alumnae populations throughout the entire nation and some the world.
Local sororities and fraternities are solely based at Sonoma State University. They are not affiliated with an umbrella governing body and are not overseen by any higher association. Their alumni/ae are locally based and typcially have a smaller population of men and women.
Q: How do I join a sorority or fraternity?
A: Most sororities and fraternities hold recruitment each semester. Because of the diversity of our chapters and councils, it would be difficult to explain the intricacies of every process to join. If you are interested in learning more, be sure to check out our HOW TO JOIN page. This provides links to our three councils, their important dates, and more information about each of the respective processes.Q: How do I go about chalking for advertisement for an event?
A: There is a form in the CSLIS Office that needs to be filled out and turned in to be approved. The form reviews the policy and highlights where chalking can take place.
THERE ARE RESTRICTIONS ON WHERE YOU CAN CHALK. FAILURE TO COMPLY WILL RESULT IN THE STUDENT ORGANIZATION BEING CHARGED FOR DAMAGES AND CLEANING OF SURFACES.Be sure to read all rules about chalking and remember you must supply your own washable chalk.