As the hundreds of student organizations on campus hold elections for next year's groups' leaders, students are realizing that the size of the executive board can vary greatly from group to group. Apparently one size does not fit all.
Most undergraduates participate in one of GW's 370 student organizations, according to figures from the Student Activities Center which oversees student life on campus. While some groups are a handful of students, others can be made of hundreds of members.
SAC Executive Director Tim Miller said there is more to the size of an executive board than the size of the board's constituency.
"I think each organization is different and can function with boards in a range of sizes," Miller said. "I have seen both large and small executive boards that have worked incredibly effectively as well as (ones that have failed) in several different ways."
The College Democrats is the largest student organization on campus with more than 2,000 members. According to College Democrats President-Elect Tanya Choudbury, a sophomore, the CDs have worked to reduce the size of its executive board over the last 10 years as a way to improve the board's efficiency.
"We tend to find that when people have more duties, (a product of having fewer positions), they are more invested in the organization," Choudbury said. "This makes them work harder and it is easier to keep them accountable."
Although the CDs still have 16 executive board positions, historically the student organization had an even larger board. Choudbury said a more suitable size of the executive board will translate to a more responsiveness by the organization. In opposition to organizations that want to maintain or reduce the size of their executive boards, Neeru Peri, a senior and president of community service sorority Epsilon Sigma Alpha, said she supports an executive board with expanding numbers of roles.
"It's essential for an organization like ours that's growing at an exponential rate to have a large executive board," Peri said. "I don't know what we'd do without each position."
Most undergraduates participate in one of GW's 370 student organizations, according to figures from the Student Activities Center which oversees student life on campus. While some groups are a handful of students, others can be made of hundreds of members.
SAC Executive Director Tim Miller said there is more to the size of an executive board than the size of the board's constituency.
"I think each organization is different and can function with boards in a range of sizes," Miller said. "I have seen both large and small executive boards that have worked incredibly effectively as well as (ones that have failed) in several different ways."
The College Democrats is the largest student organization on campus with more than 2,000 members. According to College Democrats President-Elect Tanya Choudbury, a sophomore, the CDs have worked to reduce the size of its executive board over the last 10 years as a way to improve the board's efficiency.
"We tend to find that when people have more duties, (a product of having fewer positions), they are more invested in the organization," Choudbury said. "This makes them work harder and it is easier to keep them accountable."
Although the CDs still have 16 executive board positions, historically the student organization had an even larger board. Choudbury said a more suitable size of the executive board will translate to a more responsiveness by the organization. In opposition to organizations that want to maintain or reduce the size of their executive boards, Neeru Peri, a senior and president of community service sorority Epsilon Sigma Alpha, said she supports an executive board with expanding numbers of roles.
"It's essential for an organization like ours that's growing at an exponential rate to have a large executive board," Peri said. "I don't know what we'd do without each position."
