By Catherine Diakou, Staff Writer
With recent faculty cuts, some clubs may be left without an advisor in the coming months, leaving many clubs searching to find other faculty members who can fill the vacancies.
With over 100 clubs in total at Manhattan College, the activities and events that take place on campus play a crucial role in developing the atmosphere at MC. All clubs are required to fill the demand of finding a faculty member to be seated as their advisor.
Vice president of club administration for student government Montserrat Nicasio said in an interview with The Quadrangle that club advisors are a necessity for students.
“Having one is really staple, just so there is a representation of the club,” Nicasio said.
Advisors are tasked with being present during club meetings and events.
“There are academic or co-curricular versus regular clubs, so it really depends on the club itself,” Nicasio said. “Does it have many events? Does it need a certain number of participants?”
Soon-to-be secretary of the crochet club Grace Nariani explained the current situation with their faculty advisor.
“We try to plan a club event about two times a semester in addition to the usual hourly meetings that occur twice a week,” Nariani said. “Our advisor is pretty inactive since our club is majorly student-run, but we ask for his support when we need it. Dr. Ryan has been the advisor ever since the club was started last year.”
Nicasio highlighted student engagement’s efforts to assist clubs in finding advisors when needed, yet noted that there are still some uncertainties around filling all vacancies.
“Nothing is finalized…we need to see until next semester what is going to play out…I think right now it is unprecedented,” Nicasio said. “Administration has yet to share any conclusive information with Student Engagement as far as this issue, there hasn’t been any specified news… we are all in a kind of waiting period.”
Rebeca Kern-Stone, Ph.D., the standing director of the Women and Gender Resource Center (WGRC) and faculty advisor to The American Advertising Federation (AAF) as well as Lotus Magazine, spoke on the variance that can be found in working in each of these different organizations.
“For the Women and Gender Center…I got a course release for it last year, so instead of teaching three courses in the fall, I taught two,” Kern-Stone said. “You are given a break so that you can do the amount of commitment that it takes, this is only applicable to certain positions. As far as advising clubs, faculty does not get paid, we do this because we believe in what they are doing.”
Kern-Stone elaborated on how she was passed on the role of WGRC director.
“I was asked as somebody who had a background in gender studies, and my work was very much about identity, so I was a sort of natural fit as advisor for that, so they came to me specifically,” Kern-Stone said.
With the anticipated changes that will be in effect for the upcoming fall semester, Kern-Stone stated that the WGRC may have to be on the lookout for another director soon.
“Going forward, they are going to have to find another faculty member that can stand in…as for the Women’s Center I have no idea what is going to happen,” Kern-Stone said.
With many questions unanswered and minimal communication on the subject between the administration and the clubs themselves, it is proving to be a difficult situation to navigate.
“They [student engagement] will get updates and they just have to go along with it,” Nicasio said. “So many areas of the school are kind of at a standstill but hopefully in a positive light, I feel like there is going to be a bettering… we have to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”