By Collin Urban
The Student Activities Council, more affectionately known as SAC, is an organization that many students don’t even know exists. Everyone has seen its events, whether it be a party, movie night, Roller Rink, or a comedian. But surprisingly, many students still can’t identify the organization that runs around campus in their neon shirts with the star-shaped logo.
Simply put, SAC is the answer to a common problem of any college student: boredom. SAC, alongside the Residence Hall Association and the various clubs on campus, is dedicated to the simple task of making sure that there’s always something to do—something more than just passing the time while waiting for the next class. In the words of their President, senior chemical engineering major Michael Osztrogonacz, “The purpose of the Student Activities Council is to provide cultural, educational, recreational, and social activities for NJIT students.”
It certainly has the “recreational” part of the mission statement down. If you’ve ever wondered who was erecting bouncy castles on the green, wonder no further. It may seem that SAC is just humoring spontaneous ideas that pop into the members’ collective heads, but a fair amount of planning precedes each event. In fact, most events that occur during the semester are planned out in the previous semester. At least once a semester, SAC members hold a brainstorming meeting where they plan out the next semester’s activities.
After ideas are developed, the E-Board members review the plans and make alterations to make sure the club stays within its planned budget. SAC is entirely member driven, and is always considering new ideas for events. Anyone in the organization can contribute to how an event is created, planned, and run. It’s an organization by students, for the students. As such, any NJIT student can join at any time. Members have responsibilities, of course.
To retain membership status, a SAC member must attend at least 2/3rds of all regularly scheduled meetings, assist in the planning of events, be on at least one planning committee, and complete at least one “office hour” a week. For those unfamiliar with how NJIT clubs work, an office hour is a period of time where a club member is in the club office, acting in an official capacity.
That hour isn’t necessarily spent doing work for the club, in fact most office hours are spent studying, doing homework, or talking to other club members. With that said, if someone comes into the office (perhaps a faculty member who needs more information about an event), the members on duty must respond in a professional manner. Rarely are any NJIT clubs demanding of members, but like any job, there are professional standards that must be met.
Those interested in joining SAC can find its club office on the 4th floor of the Campus Center, right next to the office of this school newspaper, and their official e-mail is [email protected].
