Do you ever feel like there are still not enough societies at Trinity? Is your niche interest not covered by any of them? Well, you’re in luck! Follow these simple, entirely unbureaucratic steps to start up your very own society:
- First things first, you do need an idea for the kind of society you want to start. Preferably one that doesn’t already exist. While you could take on the endeavour by yourself, you will very soon need a committee so you might want to find like-minded people. The activities and interests of your society should be unique, so make sure they’re not already covered by another society. While the inclination to start a society for a niche interest is understandable, it should appeal to a larger portion of the student body. Societies also don’t have to be charitable, political, or sports organisations. Do you still feel like your society could be in the running? Onto step two!
- After having contacted the CSC Secretary to warn them of (discuss with them) your endeavour, you will need to collect the signatures of 200 students in support of your society by week 12 of the Michaelmas term. You will also need to draft your society’s constitution—but fear not, the CSC provides a sample so no need for ChatGPT on this one. Once you have drafted a constitution and gotten 200 students to put their names, student numbers, and TCD emails into your Google form, send all that over to the CSC for review and enjoy Christmas!
- Refreshed and well-rested after the Christmas break, you will soon be invited to present and justify your society’s aims, activities, and motivations before the CSC Execs. Getting the suits to understand why TCD needs the (whatever your little heart desires) society will probably be the most challenging part of the whole process. You will either be denied (sorry) or you will gain provisional recognition.
- Once you´ve been given provisional recognition by the CSC, you’re good to go for 18 months. You will gain access to CSC facilities and be eligible for CSC grants.
- After the 18 month provisional period, you will have to present the CSC with financial accounts of your activities in the preceding year, as well as a finalised and updated constitution and proof that your society has at least 50 members. Only then will you gain full recognition and will be able to decorate your CV with a new bullet point in the “achievements” column. Get ready to rack up those LinkedIn likes!
This year, a few new societies have gotten a kick-start. One of those new groups is the TCD Filipino Society. They experienced the uniquely unbureaucratic process first hand last academic year while on their journey to make a safe and welcoming space for the Filipino population at Trinity. The trials and tribulations of this process hit them firsthand. After being initially struck down by the CSC committee, where the committee cited that the society proposal was overlapping with another, the group refused to give up on their vision.
“Some of us banded together and attempted to make an air-tight case that couldn’t be refused. We contacted undergrads, post-grads, academics, and just about anyone who we could get our hands on who would stand behind us. We sent out surveys and searched for relevant statistics. It worked,” the Filipino Society explained in a statement to the University Times.
Their dedication is a true testament to the beautiful end result of forming a society, “the best part was knowing that we were building a community, and something greater than ourselves,” the society said. If you can push through the endless paperwork and bureaucratic bustle of the CSC committee, you can accomplish anything with your new society. Now, the Filipino Society is moving on to even bigger and better things.
“Through our events, we want to show that our society is a welcoming space for Filipino and non-Filipino students. Our society is a place to celebrate the diversity of Filipino culture and we’d like for people to enjoy it as much as we do,” they explained in their statement.
The trying process can often result in some of the most gratifying organisations on campus. Building a new society from the ground up is no easy task, but it is well worth it—especially when you feel there is a lack of representation or space for certain ideals within existing societies. In an official statement to the University Times, the CSC Secretary reminds students to “Make sure your idea is distinct from any other societies on campus! If what you want to do is already covered by a different society, then it’s very very very unlikely that you’ll be able to get set up as a different society.” With this, and all of our advice, in mind, you’re all ready to take your dream of a society to the next level. We wish you the best of luck in this infamous bureaucratic process and beyond!
