In an effort to improve its outreach, Student Council has developed a number of programs to encourage co-sponsorship among student groups and to support the functions of contracted independent organizations.
Last Monday, 85 student leaders from various CIOs, seven members of the University administration and staff members from Student Activities and Business Services convened at the CIO Leadership Dinner in the Newcomb Ballroom for a keynote program with resources from dominant organizations on Grounds, including the University Programs Council, the University Judiciary Committee and the Fourth Year Trustees.
The dinner was intended to initiate conversations about co-sponsorship among attendees. At the same time, Council also debuted its revamped CIO Consultant Program earlier this semester. It is geared toward better informing CIOs of the resources available and the ways they can increase efficiency in terms of budgeting, outreach and fundraising.
The program works by assigning each CIO consultant and Council representative pair 20 to 25 CIOs for which they are responsible, Vice President of Administration Nikhil Panda said.
"The idea is that they see Student Council as a resource," Panda said. "Each team is responsible for two things: The CIO consultant is to make sure they know their rights as an independent organization within the community and the representative will ensure the CIO is successful in any initiative they want to create."
Through the re-creation of the CIO Consultant Program, Council Vice President of Organizations Colin Hood said he also saw a great opportunity to improve outreach through a different avenue.
"The CIO Consultant Program was created for the lack of outreach Student Council had with a lot of CIOs," Hood said. "A lot of CIOs went through the appropriations process to create a CIO because they had to ... there really wasn't a relationship."
Now, however, CIO consultants are encouraged to contact their CIOs regularly to address any pressing concerns or issues regarding the functions and operations of a CIO, Hood said. Additionally, Hood said he is currently working on a variety of programs, including monthly CIO education workshops. The first workshop will address recruitment efforts and the creation of a team of consultants, which could advise CIOs about specific issues such as sustainability and multiculturalism.
"It's about rebuilding a relationship," he said.
Both Hood and Panda said they are conscious of the limits of the program, though.
"87 percent of students on Grounds are involved in some sort of CIO organization," Panda said. "While not all CIOs participate in the program, in theory, it's a great way to reach out to other students."
"They're not going to [create] an ideal relationship," Hood said. "There are just too many CIOs."
Roshni Malamal Pattiath, the Hindu Students Council chapter coordinator, said she has been contacted by her CIO consultant, and thinks the program is a great idea, though she is not quite sure how to take advantage of all the available opportunities that come with it.
"I think it's a very good idea on their part ... to have a better functioning [CIO] community," she said, "But if they can tell us how we can use the consultant, that would be nice ... We haven't seen the use for consultants yet."
National Pan-Hellenic Council Treasurer Amber Young, who was also a former treasurer for the National Society of Black Engineers, thinks the consultant program would be most beneficial for less dominant CIOs on Grounds.
"It sounds like a way to help people know what's going on," Young said. "It's good if they want to target not just minority organizations but also other organizations that don't apply for appropriations and others that don't [typically] deal with Student Council."
Council President John Nelson
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