Three words: Power in numbers! By joining forces with like-minded people at your school, your strength on campus grows several times over. Here's how to get a group started:

College Group

High School Group/Club

College Group-

Recruiting Members

Start a buzz on your campus. One of the best ways to do this is to hang tear-off fliers all over campus that advertise your new group. Also, try submitting a letter to the editor of your school paper announcing your new student organization.

Most importantly, talk, talk, talk! Tell everyone you know about your new group, and tell them to tell everyone they know about it! Meet with like-minded groups on campus (e.g., environmental, human rights, and social justice groups) to host events and get the word out.

Another easy way is to host your own event for World Farm Animals Day or Meatout. This can consist of an information table or simple leafleting.  This allows you to interact with people on campus that you may not interact with on a daily basis. 

Once you have people interested, then you can start to organize. Set up an initial planning meeting with all of the interested people. Get an agenda together on the steps and get people to help with the process of starting a group.

Get Recognized

At most schools, you'll be required to meet certain guidelines in order to get officially recognized as a school organization. Read your school's policy manual or meet with staff in the student activities office to familiarize yourself with your school's policies and procedures for student groups. Your school will probably require you to have a constitution and a faculty advisor.

Becoming an officially recognized campus group has many advantages: you'll receive a campus mailbox; be able to use fax machines, copiers, and other office supplies; have access to campus facilities, like meeting rooms; and, most importantly, be eligible to receive funding.

We will have action plans available but in the meantime look at our get active and current campaign pages for ideas on how to get started.  Also, Join the FARM Underground Liberation Team to stay up to date on activities and action alerts!

High School Group/Club-

Recruiting Members/Initial Start-up

First, start a buzz on your campus. One of the best ways to do this is to hang tear-off fliers all over campus that advertise your new group, and to get active during an international campaign, like World Farm Animals Day or Meatout.  We can send you free materials such as posters and postcards to hang around your school.  Make sure you go through proper channels to hang the posters and set out the literature.  This will generate interest among other students that you would not have otherwise reached.

It is also good to meet with other like-minded clubs or groups on campus (environmental, human rights, social justice, etc) to host events and get the word out.

Next, decide what your club will do for the first semester. It is a lot easier to recruit people to your group if you have fun activities and good guest speakers planned in advance. While all the planning doesn't have to be done at this point, it helps to have some sort of idea of what topics you will cover before you get started.

The next point is also very important - you need to decide on a meeting time and place. The most convenient place is obviously at the school, but if a bunch of your friends want to meet at a park or vegan-friendly place, that works too. Most schools will allow a student group to use a classroom or meeting room for its gatherings, but a simple outside meeting can work just as well. Timing is important as well because lunchtime meetings might not allow enough time for what you want to do. 

Get Recognized

Once you have all of the details worked out, it is time to approach school administration and discuss your plan. There is usually a formal process that clubs go through to be recognized on campus and there might be some logistical or planning details you've overlooked. Furthermore, if you can raise faculty support, you will easily obtain a meeting room or an advisor to help with details.

Now, with a little bit of effort, you can create fun advertisements for the club and draw in members. Perhaps plan a date to meet with your fellow officers to make posters and flyers. Hang posters in classrooms, quads, eating areas or other common places around campus and make sure to pass out stacks of flyers before or after your classes. If your school has a newspaper or an e-mail announcement list for students, try to get an article or advertisement. This is a good time to have a kick-off fundraiser or other event to get things rolling. 

Make sure to visit the get active page and review action plans and ideas for activism.  We will have action plans available and they will be emailed periodically, so join the FARM Underground Liberation Team and stay up to date!

High school can be a lot more fun when you're involved, and starting a club is a great way to do just that!