PigLick on 25/10/2007 at 13:50
Quote Posted by Scots Taffer
I ran a mathematical society at University
I think everyone is overlooking this amazing tidbit.
Matthew on 25/10/2007 at 14:24
No, we are carefully storing it for later lollery.
Yakoob on 25/10/2007 at 19:20
Quote Posted by Stitch
just get them drunk ffs
So is everyone here really saying the only way to get a group bonding is booze? I mean... seriously?
Somehow I don't see the other big and successful clubs on my campus holding bi-weekly drinking parties (and it is a small campus, so a secret like that wouldn't stay hidden for long).
Chade on 25/10/2007 at 21:28
You just need something that gets them talking ... something they have in common, something which breaks the ice, etc etc ...
In a table tennis club it's generally the fixtures which do it ... people talk about how everyone is going, how people are playing, and so forth ... note that the games themselves don't (really) involve people talking to one another, but they provide motivation for, and smooth over, that first conversation piece.
Also, I just assumed you already had a committee ... if you don't, then as Scots Taffer suggests, you really need to gather a small bunch of at least semi-interested people (3-6 people ... definitely don't make it any bigger, and don't make it any smaller either), and set aside a couple of hours for meetings every week or month. Ensure it's a private location where you can talk freely about your members. Everyone in your committee should have a set role to play in the running of the club, and you need to make sure that they do their job effectively and with enthusiasm.
Scots Taffer on 25/10/2007 at 22:56
Quote Posted by PigLick
I think everyone is overlooking this amazing tidbit.
people around here will remember certain photos that were taken of me in a kilt that surfaced around here as well as the discussion of the mathematical society back in the day, I'm not ashamed of my ridiculously nerdy past. :cool:
Quote Posted by Yakoob
So is everyone here really saying the only way to get a group bonding is booze? I mean... seriously?
Somehow I don't see the other big and successful clubs on my campus holding bi-weekly drinking parties (and it is a small campus, so a secret like that wouldn't stay hidden for long).
Okay, so the thing is: it's only
really necessary if you have a group of socially inexperienced, awkard and otherwise insular people, as you need to forcibly remove them from their ensconsed foetal comfort zone of computers and techtalk, that's the whole point of social clubs - doubly so for nerds/geeks, it is here that they need to develop the social skills (if they're lacking) for when they get out into the "real world" and are forced to deal with people on a day to day basis.
I make this sound worse than it is, my close circle of friends at Uni were anything but introverts, I knew a bunch of people from across various disciplines and they were all fairly outgoing, sociable and friendly, but there were some people who were just lost causes. One of these lost causes was the guy who eventually became the President of our society, and through interacting in the leadership, mingling with people who were relaxed in a party/drink atmosphere, his social skills increased immensely.
Aside from all of this, for the nerdy introverts to the geeky extroverts, everyone likes to have fun - LAN parties and Photoshop tutorials are fun for only so long before you need to inject a little bit of colour to the proceedings, for 99% of people, that's cracking open a beer and chatting while music blares someplace, for others it's a group-based event where people are forced to intermingle but in a fun way (say, a pub quiz etc), don't try anything like a formal dance etc until you've gotten to a comfortable stage in the society's lifecycle.
The fact is, to get a bit of life into a society there need to fun events not directly associated with the reason for the society's existence. Simple as that.
As for the leadership bit you've got above, it seems like you're taking this a little too seriously. "Private location" so we can "talk about members"... uh, it's a fucking social club, we held it in the common room of the maths department and only 1/2 hr or an hr for a week if we had something to plan. Just get some speed in organisation and you'll find it'll all slot into place, it seems you need to spend more time thinking about how NOT to be yourselves.
crunchy on 26/10/2007 at 03:45
Quote Posted by Yakoob
So is everyone here really saying the only way to get a group bonding is booze? I mean... seriously?
At my uni we had a Brewers Club. Guess what they did for social outings?
For the life of me I can't imagine Scots sitting around with a bunch of guys wearing shorts 3 sizes too small, white socks pulled up to their knees, horned rimmed glasses, pocket protectors playing with their slide rules and drooling over the latest scientific calculator that has 55378008 displayed, reading it upside down and then giggling.
Scots Taffer on 26/10/2007 at 03:58
Hahaha, don't let your stereotypes run amok. Some of the most fun-loving guys I know were either math or computing science grads, great guys, great friends. There were a whole lot of bottom-feeding, scientific calculator drooling nerds, but they weren't my friends. :cool:
Chade on 26/10/2007 at 05:58
Quote Posted by Scots Taffer
As for the leadership bit you've got above, it seems like you're taking this a little too seriously. "Private location" so we can "talk about members"... uh, it's a fucking social club, we held it in the common room of the maths department and only 1/2 hr or an hr for a week if we had something to plan. Just get some speed in organisation and you'll find it'll all slot into place, it seems you need to spend more time thinking about how NOT to be yourselves.
Blame that on me not him ...
Well, I have no experience with social clubs, but my experience with committee's in sporting clubs is that meetings are a lot more productive if you can talk without feeling self-conscious about what you are saying. That may be different with social clubs, however ... sports clubs tend to take themselves very seriously ... :p
EDIT: That is to say, there is a core group of people who take it seriously, and those are the people who tend to get elected into the committee's, while everyone else looks on with mild bemusement.
