If you're a UMass student, do you know what an RSO is?  Do you know what it stands for?  Surprisingly, when asked, many students don't know the answers to these questions.  It's a shame because so many student groups exist on campus that are excellent places for all students, and especially freshman, to get involved.  People who aren't members of an RSO, or at least a club, are missing out.

RSO stands for Registered Student Organization.  While anyone can make a club, an RSO is officially recognized by the SGA and can request a budget that comes from the SATF (see my earlier post on the SGA).  New RSOs are created during an application period using forms that can usually be found on the SGA Secretary of the Registry page here. 

No need to be sarcastic if you're not interested in the specifics.  If you want to join an RSO, Campus Pulse has a complete list of every organization.  Currently, the list has 512 organizations!  Of these, likely over 300 are active, not to mention all of the unregistered clubs that exist on campus.  With so many clubs there is a place for everyone.

I said "likely active" above because many groups don't use Campus Pulse or keep their pages up-to-date.  I implore RSO leaders to make use of this website.  I know it can be annoying, especially when you have your own separate webpage, but Campus Pulse could be an extremely helpful resource as a central location for all RSOs.  I know as an incoming freshman I tried to use the website but was discouraged by how few RSOs actually put information on it.  Please help make the website better.