Common-Interest Associations

(associations not based on age, kinship, marriage or territory) play a major role in the lives of students who seek to find meaningful social relationships in a large, urban, largely commuter campus. As a category of social grouping described extensively by anthropologists, common-interest associations are known to be an inevitable byproduct of urbanization, social change, and societal complexity because they are flexible and serve multiple needs.

New students arriving at CSUF along with some 35,000 other students face a bewildering array of choices. Structured associations enable them to make friends, express their individuality, articulate their ideas about their goals, interests, and future plans, develop leadership skills, and learn how a department and university function.

The Department of Anthropology has a number of common-interest associations or clubs, all coordinated under the umbrella organization of the Anthropology Students Associations (ASA). ASA is chartered under the Associated Students of the University and is open to all anthropology majors at the undergraduate and graduate level; there are no dues.

The Anthropology Students Association (ASA) represents all students in the Anthropology Department, and has two main functions: to support activities that benefit the department as a whole and to act as an umbrella organization that coordinates the activities of all special-interest clubs. For example, ASA works with special interest groups to organize Student/Faculty Colloquia, various Workshops, Roundtable Discussions, and Film Nights, as well as department social activities such as First Friday potlucks, Holiday Party, and Commencement Party.

ASA's most important activity of the year is the Annual Symposium, which is totally student-run, with assistance from a faculty advisor.

Members of all special-interest clubs are also members of ASA (thus in some ways it is possible to think of the Anthropology department as having one club, ASA, with special interest groups). Club officers (or club representatives) from ASA and all of the special interest clubs try to meet regularly to share information about activities they're planning, and to plan inter-club collaborative activities.

Special-interest clubs provide students with an opportunity to pursue special interests. Currently there are 5 active special-interest clubs: Lambda Alpha Anthropology Honor Society, Titan Archaeology Club (TAC), Roots & Shoots, Visual Anthropology Club (VAC), and the Primatology Students Association (PSA). Other special interest groups, including the Society of Anthropology in Journalism and the Society for Practicing and Applied Anthropology (SPAA), do not happen to be active this year but have been very active in previous years. Students who are interested in re-activating such special interest clubs are encouraged to do so. [Please see the links for descriptions and contact information for all of these special interest clubs.]

All student organizations have participated in various kinds of fund-raising activities, such as have garage sales, selling refreshments at club events, or selling T-shirts and coffee mugs.

Clubs funds are used for a number of purposes, including scholarship funds, field trips, film rental, printing costs, and honoraria for guest speakers.

Clubs may also apply for funding through the Inter Club Council (ICC). ICC funds may help cover costs such as travel expenses for students presenting papers at professional conferences, as well as helping to fund larger events such as the Annual Symposium.

In order to request ICC funds, ASA must elect a representative who will attend all ICC meetings. All funding requests from any of the clubs must go through ASA (as the umbrella organization), after which the ICC representative presents the proposal to the ICC.