Which society to join, and which not?

The Societies Fair will be held at the Student Union's Great Hall, commencing at 10.00am. This is one of the annual attractions of the Student Union where clubs & societies compete with each other in recruiting new members. The societies' previous activities will be on display as well as the plans throughout the year.

* Picture taken during Perantau Cup, Manchester

I will list a few criteria which you might want to ponder on while giving yourself some time to choose the society you'd like to join

1. If you are a newcomer to the university, you might want to join a society that is closely attached to your identity; Islamic Society, Jewish Society, Malaysian Society, Japanese Society and so on. These societies have the potential of attracting members of the same background as you, hence making it easy for you to mingle with your close-knit community.

2. If you have been joining one or two societies before, I'd recommend you to stick on the same society, but do take the opportunity to rise in the ranks. This is a chance for you to learn & develop your leadership skills. Get new experience in organising & explaining your plans for new members. New members normally would respect you because of your experience. Don't worry too much on your capability in becoming a great leader because everyone makes mistakes! Learn, coz the biggest room in the world is the room for improvement!

3. You might feel that you've had enough with the society you've joined for 2 years in a row, so now's the time to take up a new challenge. Try out other societies which could provide you a platform to explore your inner talents to a greater stage.

a. Political-based society (Labor, Conservative, LibDems) if you'd like to learn more on British politics
b. Charity-based society (SVC, BACCUP etc) if you want to know how to run a charity, non-profit organisation in the future
c. Missionary-type society (Islamic, FOSIS, Jew etc) are for those who'd like to do some missionary work.

Don't worry of not getting a high position. It's the exposure that counts! Focus on your attitude, coz where focus goes, energy flows. Positive attitude creates greater aptitude, which directly brings you to a higher altitude!