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Listen to a conversation between a student and an employee in the student activities office.W: I was on your student activities website this morning looking for an environmental club to join, but I didn't see anything.M: Um. We used to have something like that on campus, but not anymore. We do have a community service club. They might do some environmental activities.W: Yeah. But their activities seem more related to education, like tutoring children and stuff like that.And I'm like, the club I belonged to in high school did things like recycling and raising money for a local nature preserve. I mean, I'm not saying tutoring isn't important. It's just that,M: you know, you could start your own environmental club. Sounds like you've got experience.W: Me? But I'm only a first-year student. M: It's not like you have to wait till you are second year to be the founder of a club.And if you don't feel like, you know, enough people to join your club, there's lots of ways to advertise. There's the campus newspaper. You can make flyers to put up on the bulletin boards.W: Um. I guess I could start looking into the process of starting a club. Even if I didn't do it right away, maybe down the line.M: I think you'll find the process to be fairly straightforward. But there are several steps involved.For starters, the founder needs to find at least four other students who will commit to join the group to form its core membership.W: Okay! With the bulletin boards and all it shouldn't be too hard to recruit people.And I'm taking an environmental studies class, so I could probably ask some of my friends from there.M: Sure. So once you have your core group of five, you'll need to draft your constitution, you know, a document stating your mission and basic goals, telling why the club worthwhile.Then if the constitution is approved by my office, we’ll make the club official.W: Okay. Does it cost anything? I mean, is there a fee for starting a club? M: Actually, the university funds you. Each approved club gets startup funding of $ 400.It can be used for recruiting members, printing flyers, buying office supplies, and for your first meeting. Maybe some refreshments, that kind of thing.But you're not given the money automatically. You have to get a faculty member to sign up as your advisor first.And you have to submit a budget specifying what you like to spend your $ 400 on. This is where your faculty advisor will be most helpful.W: It seems like a lot of work. But it would be worthwhile for me. I think. I mean, I really hope to make a career out of environmental studies one day, so to really be doing some hands-on work.M: Great. Let me get you a handbook. It has all the steps and requirements for getting started.