Club fest for the Spring Semester occurred on January 25th at Kimmel. Only the 665 clubs that were officially established through the extensive application process were allowed to recruit.665 is the number of registered portals on OrgSync, the platform used by NYU to connect students with university-sponsored clubs. However, before being officially instated, clubs undergo an extensive application process.

The club application process is the responsibility of the Students Activities Board, a committee that coordinates the creation and regulation of clubs with All-University status. The clubs that make it through are registered under the NYU Center for Student Activities and Leadership.

According to Vice Chair of Development for the Activities Board Julie Colbert, 47 clubs applied for the New Club in Development program last semester. The first step — an online application — has four parts. It requires, among other things, a mission statement, a uniqueness statement and a list of events the club would plan with a $1000 budget, if selected as an NCD. Finally, students need to gather 200 signatures from NYU students who would support the club.

CAS senior Fiona Conway was the NYU chapter director for SproutUp NYC last semester, and she is currently the Director of Community Outreach for the organization’s main branch.

“We wanted to become an official club because we have a hard time spreading the word about our organization without the ability to book rooms in Kimmel or tabling for fundraisers,” Conway said. “We also needed the funds that NYU provides clubs in order to mediate the costs of fingerprinting new student-instructors through the Department of Education.”

In regards to the process, Conway said that acquiring signatures is easy if there are already a great deal of people interested in the organization.

“The signatures were the easiest part,” Conway said. “Most people are pretty willing to sign especially after hearing our pitch. The time constraint makes it hard but if you have enough members to pass around sheets it’s not hard at all.”

Tisch junior Shi Yi Jean Ng, the treasurer for Paws at NYU, another club that participated in NCD last semester, said that the arduous process tests student-leaders’ commitment to their organizations.

“The process to apply was pretty long and it takes a whole semester to process everything,” Ng said. “While it may seem daunting, I understand why these requirements are in place. Running a club can be pretty demanding and this is one way the school can ensure that its students are dedicated enough to build a sustainable club.”

GLS sophomore Michael Leonetti, the president of the International Rescue Committee — also one of the newest clubs at NYU — agreed.

“The application process was rigorous, and we were only accepted as a new club after appealing an initial rejection,” Leonetti said. “I think it is intentionally difficult to give would-be club leaders a taste of the real difficulties of running a club at NYU. Applying was stressful, but it forced us to gain much more knowledge about the administrative process than we had before, which has been hugely helpful.”

These three clubs are part of the lucky six that got accepted into the NCD program, along with Viva Peru!, Spectrum Stage Theatre and Czech-Slovak Club. For more information about the new clubs and how to sign up, check OrgSync.