It seems like nearly every day University of Houston students can be heard complaining about the lack of "college life" that this school offers. Students often remark that they have a hard time meeting new friends at UH.
This is especially true for commuting students. Taking 15 hours of classes, working 25 hours a week, and driving in from Sugar Land everyday can leave barely enough time to catch a half-hour of South Park, much less time to seek that elusive "college experience."
However, your UH experience is entirely what you make of it. The Office of Campus Activities, located in the University Center Underground, boasts over 300 registered campus groups and organizations.
No matter what your interests, there is a group that is right for you and every other student on campus.
UH offers more than 50 ethnic student organizations. Many of these are part of the Council of Ethnic Organizations and include the Asian Students' Association, the Chinese Students' Association, the Hispanic Students' Association and the International Students' Organization, to name a few.
There are also many organizations devoted to exploring one's faith. Nearly every major faith or denomination maintains an office on campus. Many of these are located in A.D. Bruce Religion Center. These include the Baptist Student Association; Hillel, comprised of Jewish students; and the Methodists' Wesley Foundation.
There are also numerous Bible study groups, like Alpha Omega Greeks for Christ and choral groups such as the Good News Gospel Choir.
If athletics are more your game, then UH Intramurals is the place for you. Intramural leagues exist for sports ranging from bowling to basketball and everything in between. Anyone can play or organize a team.
In addition to the intramurals, organizations like Houston Rugby Football often recruit new team members.
Pre-professional organizations exist in nearly every field and major. These include the Management Information Systems Association, the American Institute of Architecture Students, the Pre-Optometry Professional Society and the Pre-Law Society. Groups like these can be invaluable for networking for a future career as well as for meeting new people with similar interests.
If your future is leading towards politics, the Students' Association would be a good place to start. As our elected governing body, this organization holds elections every March and writes legislation to represent the student body to our university administration.
Groups such as Orientation Team and the UH Ambassadors work to recruit new students and to ease their adjustment to this huge new place.
In addition, the Cougar 'Cruiters work with Athletics to recruit potential new athletes. All these organizations provide great opportunities for leadership and help ensure a bright future for our university.
If you are Cougar proud, there are school spirit organizations such as the Cougar Marching Band, the Cougar Dolls or the Frontiersmen. The Cougar Dolls dance and get the crowd pumped at many UH sporting events. The Frontiersmen, with their trademark red shirts, jeans, boots and tan cowboy hats and dusters, promote Homecoming, Frontier Fiesta and especially UH athletics.
In addition, the UH Foundation works to instill pride among students and educate them about their future roles as UH alumni.
The university also boasts one of the fastest-growing Greek systems in the nation. UH offers more than 25 national Greek letter fraternities and sororities, all of which offer great opportunities for leadership and friendship for their members.
These are just a few of the many student organizations at UH. A description of all of them would take up many more pages than this column was allotted. Whether you want to play sports, discover more about your faith, work on the team that plans and builds Frontier Fiesta, or just make some new friends, you can do it by getting involved on campus.
Whether you are a campus resident or a commuter, there's a group for you. And if there isn't one, you can always start your own organization. How do you think most of the 300-plus groups got their start on this campus? Somebody had to do it!
College is entirely what you make of it, and UH offers an incredible array of options to make your college experience everything it can be.
Lawrence Dean is a member of the University of Houston Student Foundation, an
organization that works closely with the Houston Alumni Organization to prepare students for future roles in support of the University of Houston.