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Student society

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A student society or student organization is an organization, operated by students at a university, whose membership normally consists only of students. They are often affiliated with a university's students' union. Student societies often aim to facilitate a particular activity or promote a belief system, although some (explicitly) require nothing more than that a member is a (former) student. Some are not affiliated with a specific university and/or accept non-university students.

Typical examples are:

Contents

European student societies

In Europe, there are several continent-wide student organisations fostering exchange among students of different nationalities and Culture, such as with a different range of topics and activities.

There is also the National Unions of Students in Europe, a representative student organisation at European level, notably within the Bologna process.

Student societies by country

Belgium

In Flanders, student societies play a unique role in student life. Student societies there have traditionally been politically active, and they played a significant part in the 1960s division of the Catholic University of Leuven into separate Flemish and Walloon universities.

A student society in Belgium is led by a praesidium. The head of the praesidium (and the society) is the praeses. Alternative spellings are presidium and preses. For most positions, Dutch names are used nowadays.

Other positions include:

Positions are flexible, and change to meet the needs of the student organisation.

Student societies used to be politically engaged, but are now more focused on organizing parties, cantus, and cultural activities.

Student societies also exist at polytechnics.

New members go through an initiation ritual before becoming full members of a Belgian student society. A new member is called schacht and has to undergo a baptism. The baptism is the first step to integration in the student society. The next (and last) step to becoming a full-fledged member is the ontgroening. After the ontgroening, one becomes a normal member of the organization, and can join the praesidium if one so chooses. Normal members are also referred to as anciens.

See also: Education in Belgium

Germany

In Germany, student societies are wide-spread and various, though by lack of support from the universities (and by force of variety), generally do not boast many members. The most popular are the Studentenverbindungen; most of them are moderate and tolerant, although many are restricted to male or Christian members, and some - among them the so-called Burschenschaften - are right-wing or downright nationalistic.

The counterpart to these more conservative organisations are left-wing and anti-fascist student organisations as AntiFa or Praxis (in Bavaria).

On many universities - although in many states not officially recognised - there are student representations, called AStA (Allgemeiner Studenten-Ausschuss) or StuVe (Studentische Vertretung).

Other organisations include European Student Associations and the student organisations of the German political parties

Yet, there are also politically and confessionally independent, interdisciplinary and not-for-profit student organisations. One of, if not the leading one in Germany is the Studentenforum im Tönissteiner Kreis e.V. (Student Forum within the Tönissteiner Kreis e.V.) that is part of a European and worldwide network of student organizations, the Politeia Community.

See also:

India

In India , student society are not yet well organised or popular Some political affiliated student wings shows their strength through political motivation. However , one portal [ http://www.studentindia.com Student India.com] has started an effort students around India and choosing representatives to write directly on line on various issue. The head quater of this wings in Mumbai

Netherlands

In the Netherlands, originally there was just the Corps (for corpus studiorosum). Around 1890 a Catholic society was founded, the Aller Heiligen Convent, upon which other religions followed. Still later, especially in the 1960s, more societies arose, partly as a reaction against the elite status of the corps, abolishing hazing and religious links and some even opening up to non-students. An example of the latter is ESV Demos in Eindhoven, which is based on democratic principles. Unlike in many other cities, it is much bigger than the Corps, with around 275 members. It is housed in the same building as the city's two other students societies and the mensa, but has a much bigger space in it because, except for one day in the week, it is open to everyone, in keeping with its democratic principles. In practise, however, it mostly attracts students.

Sweden

Student leisure activities in Sweden are usually organised by the students' unions (studentkårer, studentkår in singular). Swedish student unions cover the whole area from arranging most of the big parties, cultural activities and sports event, to acting as an equivalent of trade union for the students so their voices can be heard regaring the content and forms of education. The union is usually divided in smaller parts called sections, sektioner, according to what subjects of programs the students study. Student union membership is compulsory according to law, although many students never see another face of the students' union than that of the party organiser. Generally all kinds of smaller societies, political, religious or just dealing with different kinds of hobbies, are organised within the students' union rather than as separate units.

An exception to this are the two ancient universities in Uppsala and Lund. There, most activities except "trade union" issues are organised by the student nations, the oldest student societies in Sweden, now thirteen at each university. The Uppsala nations have a history stretching back to ca 1630-1640, and were likely formed under the influence of the Landsmannschaften in existence at the northern German universities frequented by Swedish students. The nations in Lund were formed at the time of the foundation of the university (1666) or shortly thereafter. The nations take the names from the Swedish provinces from which they traditionally recruited their members, but do not always adhere to the strict practice of limiting membership according to those principles.

 

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