New student group seeks out adventure
By MELISSA WALKER
Bored Santa Clara students need look no further than the university's own clubs for something exciting to do.
The Adventure Society is a new Registered Student Organization that will offer activities such as skydiving and kayaking to students who are looking to test their adventurous side.
Freshman Ashley Mavon started the club when she realized that, unlike other private universities, Santa Clara had no club like the Adventure Society.
"I started the Adventure Society because there are so many resources around Santa Clara, and students don't ever get the chance to take full advantage of them as much as they should," Mavon said. "Although there are specialty clubs for different adventure sports, those focus on one particular skilled sport."
The Adventure Society is focused on a variety of challenging activities rather than just one. The idea of forming a club that focuses on high-intensity has grabbed student interest and surprised Mavon.
"I thought the club would have maybe 10 people," Mavon said. "There were about 50 people at the first meeting on Tuesday, and I received 112 emails from people that said they were interested in the club, but were not able to make the meeting."
Although Mavon sent out a university-wide email, she suspects that some students may not know that the club exists yet, making more members a possibility. Originally, Mavon planned on running the club with little help, but with the large student body interest she has received, assistance from others is anticipated.
"Doing most of the work alone has been stressful, but 14 people signed up to help at the first meeting," Mavon said.
Although Mavon has many ideas for the Adventure Society including camping, surfing and possibly trips to Costa Rica or Fiji, she has to worry about important details like funding and liability. "Funding is a big problem," Mavon said. "Unfortunately, the activities that we will be doing will be costly and not all students will be able to afford to do them."
Mavon estimates a two day kayaking trip to cost approximately $130, and a skydiving trip to cost around $100 per person.
Mavon realizes this may pose a problem for some students who are interested in joining the club. The club receives minimal financial help as a RSO, but Chartered Student Organizations receive more financial support form the university. With this in mind, Mavon may form a type of partnership with the Activities Programming Board.
"[APB is] willing to fund our events as long as the events are open to the entire student body, not just the Adventure Society," Mavon said. "Hopefully they will help to lower the prices of our events."Besides financial difficulties, Mavon has to think about the risks involved with adventure activities and the liability of the university. Currently, the activities office has not yet approved each of the events, so while Mavon has received a green light for the actual club, the Adventure Society will have to wait until release forms and liability arrangements are made.
Harry Fong, Santa Clara's Assistant Vice President of Finance and Risk Manager, is concerned about the proposed activities of the Adventure Society and plans on meeting with advisors to discuss the risks involved with the club's activities.
"Most clubs focus on one activity or on a one-time event," Fong said. "The Adventure Society wants to do a lot of different activities with a lot of inexperienced people."
Although Fong is concerned, he is confident that an arrangement will be worked out for the Adventure Society.
In the meantime, Mavon and her helpers will need to figure out what others in the club are excited to participate in, and create plans for Adventure Society activities.