Presentation from the event The Xavierite
The Registered Student Organization (RSO) training event, hosted by Student Life, happened throughout the week of Sept. 23. There were several sessions scheduled on The Den for students to attend on the 23rd, 24th, & 25th of September in the Wiseman Student Lounge.
The Wednesday training session was canceled Monday night because it conflicted with the Mercy Day Ceremony, however students were still encouraged to participate in Tuesday afternoon’s meeting. Enchiladas were served to students in attendance.
Morgan Ulanowski, President of the Political Science Forum (PSF) planned on attending the Wednesday session before it was canceled. “Even though I was not able to attend the event due to its cancellation, I have been sharing information from the other RSO leaders, and it has already been beneficial,” she said.
When RSVPing to the training session, each attendee had the option of indicating which RSO they were there representing. Fruitful Ojelabi, President of the Resident Hall Association (RHA) said that “This is my first RSO training session, and I am hoping to learn something.”
Giuliana Islas, Orientation & Belonging Coordinator was set to host the Tuesday afternoon event, however other Student Life staff hosted the other sessions. Islas had a PowerPoint presentation reading for when she educated the audience on matters such as RSO Executive Boards, navigating The Den, event requests, event resources, and budget management.
Islas began the presentation by talking about roster management. “Keeping the roster up to date on The Den is helpful for clarity within the RSO,” Islas said. Every RSO must have a President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer, and those roles must be indicated within The Den.
Elizabeth George, Vice President of outreach for RHA, and treasurer of Cougs Overboard (Cougs OB) also attended the event “because I just wanted to learn how to use The Den better.”
Leadership development coordinator Adrian Hernandez was also an attendee of the event. “It is helpful to have myself here to relay any information to my fellow Student Life staff, and also, to just support Giuli,” said Hernandez. In addition to staff members, many members of their RSOs executive board were encouraged to attend one of the training sessions.
Dannia Ruiz, treasurer of the National Student Speech Language & Hearing Association (NSSLHA) was there as a representative of their executive board. “It is helpful being here for my organization, especially because I am on the executive board,” Ruiz said.
Islas outlined some information for students on how to manage their RSOs finances. “The Den can be hard to navigate, so I am here to let RSO members know how to create a Special Funding Request and Purchase Request on their own.” Islas demonstrated the differences between Special Funding Requests, or requesting money an RSO doesn’t already have, and Purchase Requests, or spending money from the RSOs annual budget and/or fundraising account.
For RSO leaders, financial information can be found on The Den under organization tools by the finance tab.
Another RSO treasurer, Grecia Luna, was at the event representing SXU Drama Club. “I am the treasurer of the organization, so I am here to learn about budgeting.”
The presentation also outlined the parameters for when RSO members can create event requests. As Islas explained, an event request for a public event hosted by an RSO must be made within two weeks of the event. A special funding request for a specific event must be made within three weeks of the event.
Students can post their flyers to designated Posting Zones, but they aren’t allowed to hang any flyers outside of those areas.
Bryana Mendez, President of Psi Chi: International Honor Society in Psychology, attended the event. “I attended the event on the executive board’s behalf. Many of them couldn’t make it, so I wanted to bring any information I could” she said.
Alpha Phi Sigma, The Criminal Justice Honor Society, also had representatives present at the event. “I thought the event was very helpful and I learned something,” Angela Estrada, a member of Alpha, said. For students that couldn’t make it to the event, Islas informed them that Student Life is planning on hosting another session soon.
Islas concluded the event by highlighting key event resources for an RSO to utilize. “The SOC, The Hub, the University Wide Calendar, and 25Live are great resources for students who are in RSOs to use. We also encourage students to get creative with event flyers for your organization.”
For more information on RSO training sessions and how to use The Den, students can contact Islas at islas@sxu.edu.