Want to get involved?

What is so important to the University of Toledo that it is given up to $500,000 of the annual budget?

That’s right: student organizations.

According to Rudy Taylor, the office of student involvement program manager, “the university as a whole would probably implode” without its student organizations.

“We are so dependent upon our student organizations – they are really the backbone of our social structure here on campus,” Taylor said. “We do some things as a department or division to build up that student life, but the student organizations really are the core of all of it.”

With around 300 current student organizations, it seems UT has one for just about everything. But Taylor, who is involved with assisting and coordinating all student groups, said new organizations are added “all the time.”

During the academic year, student groups are added nearly every two weeks and Taylor said since the year has started, three or four organizations have already applied.

“It just depends on the ebb and flow of the applications,” Taylor said. “It’s a constant process. We’re always fluctuating.”

The Office of Student Involvement uses nine categories to organize student organizations: academic, special interest, Greek, honorary, political, religious, service, sport club and cultural/social organizations.

UT does not create or plan any student orgs by itself: Taylor said these groups are “completely student driven.”

Have an idea for a student org? Taylor urges students to come forward with their ideas and try to form a group.

“Students come up with ideas and they come in with a request to start their organization,” Taylor said. “We ask for 10 members, a constitution, an advisor and a statement of finances, like how they’re going to run their finances.”

Taylor said that because of the number of student org applications, there is even a graduate student who is consistently reviewing constitutions and talking back and forth with organizations about what they need to do to get their organization approved and finalized.

What do all these applications say about the UT student body? Taylor is convinced it proves UT students are go-getters with ambition.

“If they can’t find what they want, they’re willing to put the work in to make it,” Taylor said. “They’re passionate — our students are a very passionate group of people. You see it because they really do take to what they’re doing very, very strongly.”

According to Taylor, the reasons why student orgs are founded vary, but he said many groups simply “wanted to help out.”

One example Taylor mentioned was a new group created last year called, Adopt-A-Grandparent, which aims to “build that long-term relationship with someone who may or may not have someone visiting them frequently.”

Rachel Beeson, a fourth-year bioengineering major who is also the president and co-founder of Adopt-A-Grandparent, said the org “seeks to serve Toledo area senior citizens by visiting local skilled nursing facilities in both group and individual settings.”

“Our goal is to bridge the gap between generations and combat elder loneliness by building relationships,” Beeson said. “We sponsor monthly group events and also pair students with an adopted ‘grandparent.’”

Beeson said that one common excuse students have when deciding not to join an org is that they feel they may not have enough time or they are too busy.

However, most groups, like Adopt-A-Grandparent, are understanding and don’t ask for more than a few hours per week.

“Although we require members to visit their resident twice each month, Adopt-a-Grandparent is an extremely flexible organization,” Beeson said. “Each member decides when to visit their resident, which makes it possible for even the busiest students to join.”

Acts of kindness set aside, Taylor believes that joining a student org is not only beneficial for a student’s college experience — it’s essential.

“Student orgs round out the college experience in a real-life kind of way,” Taylor said. “You could be an amazing student who goes to class everyday and takes your exams and has a 4.0, but if you can’t take that knowledge and apply it to working with others and real world situations, you aren’t as ready for the real world as you need to be.”

In fact, some student treasurers for student groups account for large budgets, a few almost reaching the $100,000 mark, according to Taylor.

“That’s an experience that’s invaluable when it comes time to find your job,” Taylor said.

Networking, resume building, fundraising and coordinating community outreach events all are skills Taylor said student organizations will provide to their involved members. Plus, he said students involved in extra-curricular activities are usually more productive and efficient than those who have more downtime.

“There’s a reason why people who are busier do better with a lot of their organization,” Taylor said. “The more things you have on your plate — up to a certain point — usually the more productive you become because you have to prioritize things, you have to do your time management, you have to get things together. If you have idle time, it’s easy to waste.”

Taylor said he feels that most students take “the overall reach or impact that a lot of our organizations have” for granted because students don’t know what most organizations truly do.

“For almost every one of our organizations, I can think of something where they have not just impacted the University of Toledo, but the city of Toledo, Ohio, and internationally,” Taylor said. “I mean, we have organizations building water filtration systems and taking them to Haiti, we have groups working with nonprofit organizations to not just collect shoes, but to get those shoes to third-world countries…. The things our organizations are doing is really astounding.”

Taylor also praised UT’s fraternities and sororities, saying that the amount of money, service hours and direct impact the Greek community has on their individual philanthropies is inspiring.

“These student organizations really are much more than just the University of Toledo; they really are our community and our global community as well,” Taylor said.

Beeson, who has encountered illnesses such as dementia while visiting the elderly, said that joining a student org can teach lifelong lessons and make students appreciate what they previously took for granted, especially when they work alongside others different from themselves.

“It is easy to get caught up in trying to save the world and forget that change starts in our own backyards,” Beeson said. “This experience has made me appreciate my youth and all of the things I take for granted like the ability to walk, talk and even remember.”

With such diversity on campus, it’s no surprise that UT also has a wide variety of international student organizations, which fall under the umbrella organization, the International Student Association. Included is the Filipino American Association, the Indian Student Cultural Organization, the Latino Student Union and many others.

“Our international population is very active in our student organizations,” Taylor said.

Students looking to find their niche are invited to the 2014 Student Org Activity Fair on Aug. 27 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. in Centennial Mall. Live music and free snacks and beverages will be provided. Taylor expects roughly 100-120 groups to be in attendance, which is slightly higher than in previous years.

Taylor is confident that most students will be able to find an organization they feel they fit into.

“They should be able to find something,” Taylor said. “If they can’t, well, let’s get some people together and create an organization.”

If absolutely nothing else, Taylor asks students to attend just one meeting before they pass judgment on a group.

“They will take the lead on things — all you have to do is show up,” Taylor said.

To check out a complete listing of UT student organizations, you can visit the OSI website.