Starting a vegetarian group at university or college

How to go about it

There are a lot of advantages in starting an official Students Union society – you’ll get access to lots of facilities. They will vary somewhat from place to place but may include things like meeting rooms, storage facilities, photocopying, use of communications facilities, dvd player, maybe even a minibus!

Every University will have it’s own rules for starting an official SU society so please check your own uni’s website for details, however they will follow a similar pattern:-

• Recruit a certain number of members (usually 20 or 25)

• Write a constitution that sets out your aims and objectives

• Make up a committee – you’ll need at least a treasurer, secretary and a president or chairperson.

• Write a risk assessment for your activities

Many Student Union websites offer you lots of help when it comes to writing your constitution and risk assessment etc so, again, do check your own uni’s.

Your society will have to be considered by the societies committee/council who will be checking to make sure that your group won’t be duplicating the activities of an existing society so do check the list of existing societies first.

The best opportunity for recruiting members is the Freshers Fair, so if you want to start up a new vegetarian society at your university, make sure you apply for a stall early, usually before the end of the previous term, and be prepared to work hard creating a good visual and material presence with an ample supply of leaflets and posters.

Make a special note of anyone who shows a genuine enthusiasm for the vegetarian ethic and chase them up afterwards to form a reliable nucleus to help with organising, committee etc. Don't be put off by any opposition you encounter, a Freshers Fair will represent a broad spectrum of human opinion. Don't waste time trying to convert those who are obviously unreceptive – this is your opportunity for signing up those already interested, not for making new converts.

If you’ve missed the Freshers Fair for this year, then you will have to rely on other methods of reaching people such as posters, and messages on any e-groups, online forums, websites, student newsletters or radio stations your university may operate.

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