So You Want To Start a Pagan Student Group?
by Doug O'Neal

Based on my experiences in the formative stages of Penn State Silver Circle, I have the following general tips if you want to start a similar group at your college or university.  This assumes that you have already decided to "go public" and form an official group, recognized by the university.

0. Pick a unique, original name for your organization. This creates an identity by which current and prospective members will know the group. The name can be something simple like "University of X Pagan Student Union" or something more creative.

1. Find out what the requirements are for starting a new student organization at your school, and follow them to the letter. A pamphlet detailing these procedures is probably available from the general Student Activities office. One thing you'll probably have to do is demonstrate that the purpose of your group doesn't duplicate that of any previously-existing organization.

Also, as you are following these steps, don't go "looking for a fight" or expecting to find discrimination at every corner; and realize that the same rules do indeed apply to your group as apply to any other. If discrimination happens, you'll have to deal with it. But one benefit of following the instructions "to the letter" is that if you're doing it right no one can deny you the opportunity to start this group; if they do, you have a legitimate complaint to whatever higher authority you take it to. If you sincerely and openly explain to the Student Activities powers that be what your group is, what Paganism is, and why you want to start the group, you'll probably be fine.

2. Define the purpose of the group; WHY are you founding this organization? It isn't enough to say "Well, the Christians have 32,169 groups on this campus, why shouldn't we have ONE????". What goals do you have, what do you want the group to do and accomplish? Do you want it to have an overtly Wiccan emphasis, or be open to and equally accepting of people of all Pagan persuasions and to folks who are just interested?  Do you want it to be a social group, where people gather once a week and b.s. and hang out with other Pagans? An educational one, where you share your own knowledge, bring in guest speakers to meetings, and occasionally do public events where you educate a wider audience about Paganism? Or do you want to be an overtly religious organization that sponsors actual rituals, magic workings, etc? Or some combination of the above?

(For Silver Circle, we quickly realized that we could not be a religious group; due to the wide variety of beliefs, practices, and viewpoints of members, it is impossible to design a ritual or working acceptable to all. Thus we decided that members can come to meetings and invite other members to such activities, but none will be officially sanctioned by the organization. Your experiences may differ. Also, I strongly believe that the group should have some educational component -- we try to have a discussion topic or activity at each meeting, so that meetings DON'T become just a hang-out, and so that members find them interesting and rewarding enough to continue coming.)

Make these decisions and write them into a set of bylaws. Also in the bylaws (or the constitution, like the one that our student activities office requires us to have) you have to make decisions like, what elected and appointed officers will there be and what will be their duties? What will you do if a member or an officer is behaving contrary to the goals and well-being of the group? What will you do if attacked from the outside? To what extent are individual members allowed to speak for the group as a whole (if, for example, they're interviewed by the media).

3. You'll probably start your group with a few interested people, then this will grow by word-of-mouth or preliminary advertising (USENET groups alt.pagan, alt.religion.wicca, alt.religion.asatru, and soc.religion.paganism are great for this, as are flyers). As the organization grows, get input from the newer people as to what THEY want the group to be. Just because you're the founder, don't assume that your idea for the organization is the only idea or the best idea. Come to a reasonable consensus among all who legitimately wish to work for the betterment of the organization.

4. Founding an organization requires just that -- ORGANIZATION. There's a stereotype of Pagans as people who don't pay much attention to the finer details of keeping their lives organized and orderly, who, in short, follow "Pagan Standard Time". Like all stereotypes, this one has some basis in reality. Yet if you want to found a Pagan student group, you need at least one person with leadership skills, who meets deadlines, who knows and informs others what needs to be done and when, who doesn't forget to remind all members of the next meeting time, etc. Being on "Pagan Standard Time" can lead to missing the deadline for submission of your constitution or some similar disaster, and having to wait until the next semester or next year to gain official recognition. If you have a founding member or members who is/are already familiar with the workings and requirements of Student  Activities, all the better.

5. Finally, remember that once your group is established, it will constantly change as old members leave and new ones come in. Allow it to evolve in response to new people and new ideas. The original bylaws may have looked good on paper, but may need to be revised when put into practice. On a similar note, beware of the "ruling clique"; there may be a tendency for the founding or experienced members to make all the decisions themselves or socialize only among themselves. Especially if yours is an overtly social organization, the leaders have a duty to make it rewarding and positive for everyone who legitimately wishes to be a member -- old members, new members, even folks who aren't your favorite people to just hang out with. There will be different  personalities and you have to practice what most Pagans preach about being open and accepting.

Best of success in your worthy endeavor. If you have any questions about what I've written, or more specific concerns than those addressed here, feel free to e-mail me at oneal@astro.psu.edu.

Last updated for Spring 2003, on Friday, 31-Jan-2003 01:17:43 EST