Power 2 Organize, run by Student Government, Inc.’s organizations committee, held final presentations last week for prospective organizations to demonstrate why they should join SGI as an approved organization Several rounds were held including an application and presentation before the final groups went forward to present for the final voting. 

The final orgs were presented to the E-board and representatives, who proceeded to vote after all the presentations. Each org had four minutes to present and representatives had the opportunity  to ask questions after each presentation. A total of 14 orgs presented. The approved non-advisory orgs are: Her Campus, DLCS (Deaf Language and Culture Society), Avaaz, Future Healthcare Leaders, L.I.V.E. Dance Crew, Ignite, Pre-Veterinary Club and Nari. The approved non-budgetary orgs are: Arab Students Organization, SPSSNY (Student Pharmacist Society of the State of New York), S.T.A.R.S. (Students That Achieve Rise and Succeed) and ALPFA (Association of Latino Professionals For America). Want to learn more about the new orgs? Read below: 

Non-Advisory

Nov-Advisory organizations can advertise their organization through flyers, have access to an Engage page, may deposit money into a revenue fund managed by SGI and can request a table at any St. John’s Activities Fair.

Her Campus

Her Campus is an online media lifestyle magazine. Run by 33 women, Her Campus writes about mental health, fashion and culture. The articles are curated for what college women care about, while also providing social media that will spark interest. The magazine also has sponsorships, like last semester when they were sponsored by Uber. Her Campus serves to benefit people in the communications and entertainment field and has been approved for internship credit by SJU. 

DLCS (Deaf Language and Culture Society)

The Deaf Language and Culture Society is an org centered around the deaf community and interactions within our campus. DLCS is creating connections between the deaf community and other orgs on campus, while also teaching the campus community about deaf culture. According to DLCS, people in the deaf community experience issues from police brutality to dating, so they are collaborating with SOAR to work on conquering ableism. DLCS holds workshops to teach sign language and is also working within the language department to add ASL courses to the department, add a full time ASL staff member and a major/minor in ASL. 

Avaaz

Avaaz is a group centered around Sikh faith and values. The groups founders created this group based on the lack of availability on campus. SJU had no religious group on campus that gave Sikhism a voice, thus Avaaz was created. Avaaz’ focus is to break the stigma with Sikhism, while promoting multiculturalism through campus values and volunteer opportunities. 

Future Healthcare Leaders

Future Healthcare Leaders is an org focused on students within health concentrations. They provide networking in healthcare within New York and other states, while also providing education on mission opportunities. Future Healthcare Leaders main goal is to serve as a bridge between administration and students within the healthcare concentrations. 

L.I.V.E. Dance Crew

L.I.V.E. Dance Crew has been present at SJU since 2008, emphasizing the dance community on campus through different styles of dance and opportunities within the org. L.I.V.E. has over 500 followers on Instagram and is involved throughout our school’s community, as well as our surrounding community through charity dances. While they have a presence at SJU, they also perform at other universities.  Even if you don’t dance, this org encourages students to come out and be involved through things like production and videography. Their mission is to keep building the crew while encouraging confidence. 

Ignite

Ignite is an international organization which strives to keep campuses politically engaged. SJU students saw a lack in politically engaged students and locations to engage in politics on our campus, thus Ignite’s SJU chapter was created to give students this space and provide leadership resources. One of Ignite’s main goals at St. John’s is to get women more involved with politics and creating a more politically involved campus. 

Pre-Veterinary Club

The Pre-Veterinary Club is an org for students interested in veterinary medicine  to have representation on campus because, while SJU has places for future medical students to seek advice, pre-veterinary students have different requirements.  It is the perfect place for pre-vet students to seek help, from course suggestions to vet school applications. Pre-Veterinary Club is creating a network of people with similar career goals and providing volunteer opportunities for vet applications. 

Nari 

Nari is an org for South Asian women on campus, created specifically for these students to have a safe place to connect and come together. According to Nari, many women in the South Asian community do not have a place to talk about certain topics that are considered taboo in their culture. Nari provides an open space to meet and connect with other women of their culture and discuss such topics that they typically would not have an opportunity to talk about. 

Non-Budgetary 

Non-Budgetary organizations have access to everything non-advisory orgs have, as well as  access to a campus activities advisor, the ability to request a budget through SGI and can reserve spaces on campus. 

Arab Students Organization

The Arab Students Organization is working to minimize the cultural gap within the SJU community for Arab students. This org provides representation of Arab culture on campus which was not previously present, aiming to give Arab students a sense of security and acceptance on campus. Arab Students Organization is a cultural addition to the campus and fosters a presence of inclusion for all cultures, ethnicities and religions on campus. 

SPSSNY (Student Pharmacist Society of the State of New York)

SPSSNY is a pharmacy based society in New York with a focus on entrepreneurship. SPSSNY wants to give the opportunity to allow students to become business people and entrepreneurs within the pharmacy program at SJU. St. John’s has a large presence of pharmacy programs for students on campus, but few resources on the business side of pharmacy. SPSSNY seeks to find where help is needed while implementing a networking system. They  are also involved with legislative matters and work on bills within pharmacy and pharmacy students. While pharmacy students have lots of orgs to choose from for their program, SPSSNY’s speciality gives a new opportunity for students to explore. 

S.T.A.R.S. (Students That Achieve Rise and Succeed)

S.T.A.R.S. is a mentorship based professional org to help SJU students in the health science fields. S.T.A.R.S wants to help increase graduation rates and help students succeed. Many students in STEM related fields have a feeling they cannot succeed, but S.T.A.R.S. is breaking this cycle starting with freshmen. They are providing support through mentoring, professional development events and general body meetings. STEM related majors can have a heavy course load and pressure to get into a graduate or medical program. S.T.A.R.S mentor based system will help elevated this pressure with the help of current and past students in the health science fields.

ALPFA (Association of Latino Professionals For America)

ALPFA focuses on professional development within the Latinx community. Overall, they cater to different majors and backgrounds of the Latinx community. ALPFA is one of the largest professional development orgs on campus and provide resources and guidelines for students who want to develop. They are working to close the gap for Latinx SJU students who want professional develop regardless of their major.