In First Person: My Experience with a College Club

By Crystal Frederick

Everyone gets excited at the prospect of going to college.  New experiences, new locations, new people and then there is the whole higher learning thing too. Yes, college offers freshman numerous possibilities and serves as a crucial gateway to the, ‘real world’.  However, like with most big steps in life the good can come with some potential bad if you are not careful.  One of those areas can happen when one is looking to embark on extracurricular activities. Here is my experience.

I was nervous on my first day of college classes.  The campus was huge and there were a lot of buildings to navigate in a short amount of time.  It was quite a relief after the first day’s hustle and bustle that I made a friendly acquaintance.  She immediately invited me to an event already.  My new friend, let’s call her Amy, had invited me to a bible study/meet and greet happening the next day.  I went, had fun, and met what I thought were some great new people.  So, without a second thought I joined up with this bible study group.

Unfortunately for me things were not as innocent as they first seemed.  I quickly learned that this group was controlling, secretive and manipulative.  They wanted to hang out with me ALL the time.  Amy was always around me, but would never speak about our group activities when non-group members were around.   The group demanded all sorts of personal information from me and then shared it with the entire group.  If all of that wasn’t bad enough Amy informed me that if I was being true to the group and myself I would also need to break up with my boyfriend.

In the end I was able to get out of the group without too much trouble.   I had a great support system that helped me gain some much needed perspective.  Unfortunately my story is not a unique one.

So, here are a few tips to help you avoid finding yourself in a similar situation:

1. Check with your registrar or administration office– colleges and universities keep lists of sanctioned campus groups.  Before joining a perspective organization get this list from the university and make sure they are on it.  I didn’t think to do this, and no this group was not sanctioned by the university.
    
2. Read your mail – Before joyfully going off to college read ALL the material the university sends your way.  Often times if the university is having a problem with a particular group they will send information around warning students about them.  The summer after freshman year I was going through old unopened mail and found an article sent to me by the university prior to the start of the semester warning of this particular group.
   
3. Talk to current members – Before you get to heavy into any new group talk to a few of their current member.  See if they seem well adjusted.  Be very wary of secrecy.  Amy would never talk about the group when my roommates where around.

Finally, if you do find yourself in a group or situation that makes you feel uncomfortable in anyway talk to your advisory or a university counselor.  One thing you should learn early on in college is it’s never a bad thing to ask for help and the sooner you ask the better.  FYI, that goes for your chem. lab as well. College can and should be one of the best times of your life, so do your due diligence and avoid groups with hidden agendas.