November 5, 2024
With a new academic year at High Point University there also comes new rules. In September, the Student Government Association implemented a rule regarding apparel across all clubs.
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Students are still welcome to have apparel, but it is now the clubs’ responsibility to do service hours to be able to have the funds for apparel.
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“The new club apparel rule was implemented as a way to encourage organizations on campus to complete service hours so that they can be rewarded with funds toward club apparel and merchandise,” said SGA Vice President, Adriana Myers.
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However, this may inconvenience clubs focused on clothes. The Fashion Forward Club at HPU is designed for anyone who is majoring/minoring in fashion merchandising or has a general interest in fashion. The club's foundation is about the expression that comes from clothing.
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“The rule is going to affect my club by not giving us the opportunity to create apparel, which isn’t right considering my club is the Fashion Forward Club,” said Jordan Gallant, an apparel designer. “Although I don’t believe it’s right for any club not to have the opportunity, the Fashion Forward Club is full of people who use clothing to express themselves and the ability to make apparel for the club has always been incredibly important to us.”
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Through this new rule, Gallant fears that her position may be a bit more of a challenge than she thought.
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“It’s very upsetting considering I was so excited to be able to do something I love for a club that I love.” Gallant said, “If there’s some way, we can figure out how to do this, then I could potentially keep my position.”
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SGA’s goal was to benefit the clubs and make sure that everyone stays involved in the community. Myers explained that SGA wanted students to become more involved since there was a bit of an issue with students proposing too much money.
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“I think this will positively impact clubs in the future since they will be planning and executing service activities that students want to get involved in,” said Myers, “These organizations will then receive funds to use toward apparel, convincing even more students to join.”
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What is the amount of service hours and when is each club eligible to get the funds for apparel?
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“The Student Government Association will provide $5 per club member for apparel for every 10 hours of service that a club completes in a school year up to a maximum of twenty dollars per student,” Myers said.
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With some explanation, there are still some mixed feelings on this and how the SGA may have not considered the busy and chaotic life of an average college student. According to scholarshipamerica.org, “Between 70% and 80% of undergraduate college students are now working while in college; around 35% of them work full-time jobs in addition to their class work.”
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Many students believe the new rule being implemented doesn’t take into consideration what students go through on a daily or weekly basis and is not realistic based on all the responsibilities students already have.
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Despite SGA wanting a beneficial outcome for students and club leaders, the only way to gain access to funding for apparel is through service hours. This rule is to be implemented from now on going into other academic years.