Student society
Encyclopedia
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.
, 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 Flanders 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 Flemish 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 or commilito 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
, several types of francophone
student societies exist:
These societies sometimes have traditions dating back a hundred years, such as wearing one of the two traditional student hats: the Penne or the Calotte
. Their main activity is organising and attending parties or festivals (for example, the 24 hours bike ride of Louvain-la-Neuve
or the St V
).
is the oldest such organization in Canada
, and currently the most extensive in regard to student involvement. It is currently a multi-million corporation employing over 500 students. The day-to-day operations of the AMS are overseen by the AMS Council which includes an annually elected three-person executive (the President, Vice-President (Operations) and Vice-President (University Affairs), selected as a slate), five commissioners who are each responsible for a specific aspect of student life, and three directors who are responsible for overseeing the AMS’ 14 corporate services.
Poly-World
is a student committee based in the engineering school, École Polytechnique de Montréal
, set up to organize overseas missions to enable students to gain knowledge of business process
es, competitiveness
and innovation
.
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 are widespread 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 Studentenverbindung
en; most of them are moderate and tolerant, although many are restricted to male or Christian members.
The counterpart to these more conservative organisations are left-wing and anti-fascist student organisations as Anti-Fa or Praxis (in Bavaria).
On many universities - although in many states not officially recognised - there are student representations, called AStA (Allgemeiner Studenten-Ausschuss), StuVe (Studentische Vertretung) or StuRa (Studentenrat).
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:
A student society in Ireland is led by a committee or council. The head of the society and the committee is the Auditor, a term first coined for the head of Trinity's College Historical Society.
The Biological Society, RCSI's main student society, is purportedly the oldest student medical society in the world.
See Also:
, there are different forms of student societies. Originally there was just the Corps (for corpus studiorosum), student bodies, starting with LSV Minerva in the city of Leiden in 1814, as a part of the governing of the education
on the universities and to give students the opportunity to develop themselves in all fields of life. On the wave of catholic emancipation
starting in the 1890s, small groups of students, gathered around local priests, split off from the liberal
, secular (in name anyway) corps fraternities to form their own societies focused on the catholic
religion
. This started the formation of many other religious societies in the different university cities. In the second half of the 20th century the Catholic split-offs formed an intercity-connection; the Aller Heiligen Convent and the focus on the religion was lost or abandoned.
These societies are now known as student associations in the Netherlands, aimed mostly at social relations and gezelligheid
. Most of the corpora now reside in older buildings in the city center, retaining mostly a rather traditional and conservative image. These organizations offer students a wide range of sports, cultural activities ranging from all levels of sports like field hockey
, rowing
and rugby
to extremes like kitesurfing
, glider
-flying, all for student-friendly prices and development aid organisations and encouragement to start a new club of some sort at all times. especially
The 20th century also saw, especially in the 1960s, the formation of more independent societies at the universities itself, partly as a reaction against the elite status of the corps, abolishing hazing
and religious links and some even opening up to non-students. These non-Corps student societies are known as study associations (aimed at extracurricular activities for students, such as study trips, lectures, parties or drinks) or are general associations, for sports, literature, arts, etc., founded at the university itself.
s (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 regarding 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. 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.
Organization
An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...
, operated by students at a university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
, whose membership normally consists only of students. They are often affiliated with a university's students' union
Students' union
A students' union, student government, student senate, students' association, guild of students or government of student body is a student organization present in many colleges and universities, and has started appearing in some high schools...
. 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.
Examples
Typical examples are:- Faculty society - uniting students from one university faculty.
- Study association - uniting students from all years in one study.
- RegionalRégionalRégional Compagnie Aérienne Européenne, or Régional for short, is a subsidiary airline wholly owned by Air France which connects hubs at Paris, Lyon, Clermont-Ferrand, and Bordeaux to 49 airports in Europe. The airline operates in Air France livery, retaining its name in small titles and logo on...
society - uniting students from the same region or hometown; a student nationNation (university)Student nations or simply nations are regional corporations of students at a university. Once widespread across Europe in medieval times, they are now largely restricted to the ancient universities of Sweden and Finland...
. - DebatingDebateDebate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
society - political debates. - FilmFilmA film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
society - Often using lecture theatres to show films cheaply on campus. - HikingHikingHiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
club - Organising trips. - International studentInternational studentAccording to Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development , international students are those who travel to a country different from their own for the purpose of tertiary study. Despite that, the definition of international students varies in each country in accordance to their own national...
society - Introducing international students to one another. - MusicMusicMusic is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
society - student ensembles. - Civil SocietyCivil societyCivil society is composed of the totality of many voluntary social relationships, civic and social organizations, and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state , the commercial institutions of the market, and private criminal...
- To encourage polite behaviour among future leaders. - Science fictionScience fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
society - Meeting to watch science fiction TV and films. - TaekwondoTaekwondoTaekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
society, KarateKarateis a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
club - Meeting to learn martial artsMartial artsMartial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
.
Flemish Belgians
In FlandersFlanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
, student societies play a unique role in student life. Student societies there have traditionally been politically
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
active, and they played a significant part in the 1960s division of the Catholic University of Leuven
Catholic University of Leuven
The Catholic University of Leuven, or of Louvain, was the largest, oldest and most prominent university in Belgium. The university was founded in 1425 as the University of Leuven by John IV, Duke of Brabant and approved by a Papal bull by Pope Martin V.During France's occupation of Belgium in the...
into separate Flemish
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
and Walloon universities.
A student society in Flanders 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:
- Vice-praeses: assists the praeses where needed.
- Quaestor: takes care of the money.
- Ab-actis: the secretary of the student organisation.
- Cantor: Leads the cantusCantusA cantus , is an activity organised by Belgian, Dutch, French, Baltic and Afrikaans student organisations and fraternities. A cantus mainly involves singing traditional songs and drinking beer. It is governed by strict traditional rules...
. - Vertor: Organises cultural activities.
- Scriptor: Is responsible for creating a magazine.
- Bacchus: Makes sure there is enough beer.
- Dominus morum: Is responsible for keeping order at a cantusCantusA cantus , is an activity organised by Belgian, Dutch, French, Baltic and Afrikaans student organisations and fraternities. A cantus mainly involves singing traditional songs and drinking beer. It is governed by strict traditional rules...
.
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
Party
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, or recreation. A party will typically feature food and beverages, and often music and dancing as well....
, cantus
Cantus
A cantus , is an activity organised by Belgian, Dutch, French, Baltic and Afrikaans student organisations and fraternities. A cantus mainly involves singing traditional songs and drinking beer. It is governed by strict traditional rules...
, and cultural
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
activities.
Student societies also exist at polytechnics.
New members go through an initiation ritual before becoming full members of a Flemish 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 or commilito 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
Education in Belgium
Education in Belgium is regulated and for the larger part financed by one of the three communities: Flemish, French and German-speaking. The national legislator only kept a very few, minimal competences for education as the age for mandatory schooling, and, indirectly, the financing of the...
Francophone Belgians
In Wallonia and BrusselsBrussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, several types of francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
student societies exist:
- A cercle regroup students from the same faculty
- A regionale regroup students coming from the same location
- An ordre regroup students around some aspects of the student folkloreFolkloreFolklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
or traditions
These societies sometimes have traditions dating back a hundred years, such as wearing one of the two traditional student hats: the Penne or the Calotte
Calotte (Belgium)
The calotte , is a skullcap worn by students at catholic universities in Belgium. It originates from the skullcap worn by the Papal Zouave regiment around 1860....
. Their main activity is organising and attending parties or festivals (for example, the 24 hours bike ride of Louvain-la-Neuve
24h velo (LLN)
Les 24 heures vélo de Louvain-la-Neuve is a Belgian festival organized by students from the Université Catholique de Louvain held every year during October in Louvain-la-Neuve...
or the St V
St V
St V is the commonly used name for a holiday for university students in Brussels, Belgium, celebrating the founding of the Free University of Brussels. The day's long form differs in the two official languages, but both are a reference to Pierre-Théodore Verhaegen, the founder of the university,...
).
Canada
The Alma Mater Society at Queen's UniversityQueen's University
Queen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England...
is the oldest such organization in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and currently the most extensive in regard to student involvement. It is currently a multi-million corporation employing over 500 students. The day-to-day operations of the AMS are overseen by the AMS Council which includes an annually elected three-person executive (the President, Vice-President (Operations) and Vice-President (University Affairs), selected as a slate), five commissioners who are each responsible for a specific aspect of student life, and three directors who are responsible for overseeing the AMS’ 14 corporate services.
Poly-World
Poly-World
Poly-World - is a student committee based in a French-Canadian engineering school, École Polytechnique de Montréal, in Montreal ....
is a student committee based in the engineering school, École Polytechnique de Montréal
École Polytechnique de Montréal
The École Polytechnique de Montréal is an engineering school/faculty affiliated with the University of Montreal in Montreal, Canada. It ranks first in Canada for the scope of its engineering research. It is occasionally referred to as Montreal Polytechnic, although in Quebec English its French...
, set up to organize overseas missions to enable students to gain knowledge of business process
Business process
A business process or business method is a collection of related, structured activities or tasks that produce a specific service or product for a particular customer or customers...
es, competitiveness
Competitiveness
Competitiveness is a comparative concept of the ability and performance of a firm, sub-sector or country to sell and supply goods and/or services in a given market...
and innovation
Innovation
Innovation is the creation of better or more effective products, processes, technologies, or ideas that are accepted by markets, governments, and society...
.
European-wide
In Europe, there are several continent-wide student organisations fostering exchange among students of different nationalitiesNationality
Nationality is membership of a nation or sovereign state, usually determined by their citizenship, but sometimes by ethnicity or place of residence, or based on their sense of national identity....
and Culture, such as
- AEGEE (European Students Forum), trying to spread the European Idea
- AIESECAIESECAIESEC is a global youth organisation that develops leadership capabilities through their internal leadership programmes and engaging students and graduates in international student exchange and internship programmes for profit and non-profit organisations. Its international office is in...
(worldwide student organisation) - BESTBoard of European Students of TechnologyBoard of European Students of Technology is an international, non-governmental, non-political, non-profit student organisation comprising 90 Local BEST Groups in 30 countries around Europe with more than 3000 active members....
(European student organisation) - IAESTEIAESTEThe International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience commonly referred to as IAESTE is an international organization exchanging students for technical work experience abroad. Students gain relevant technical training lasting from 4 weeks to 18 months...
(worldwide student organisation) - JEFJefis a fast-food chain on Okinawa Island, with five restaurants in and around Naha . They sport a menu featuring many homebrewn Okinawan specialties such as the Nūyaru burger and the Gōyā burger, hamburgers with a filling of SPAM and bitter melon omelet. They also have fried gōyā rings, similar to...
Young European Federalists - a pan-European network promoting the idea of European Integration - ESN (Erasmus Student NetworkErasmus Student NetworkErasmus Student Network is a European wide student organisation. Its goal is to support and develop student exchange. It is composed of over 12'000 members from more than 370 local sections in 36 countries in Higher Education Institutions, including universities, polytechnics, and university...
), promoting student mobility in Europe and beyond; present in over 200 universities / 28 countries; 35.000 member (by 04.2006) - JADE
- Studentenforum im Tönissteiner Kreis e. V. (Student Forum within the Tönissteiner Kreis, a politically and confessionally independent, interdisciplinary student think tank fostering European and international cooperation)
- Bonding
with a different range of topics and activities.
There is also the National Unions of Students in Europe
National Unions of Students in Europe
European Students' Union formerly known as ESIB - The National Unions of Students in Europe - is the umbrella organisation of 45 national unions of students from 37 countries and through these members represents over 11 million students...
, a representative student organisation at European level, notably within the Bologna process
Bologna process
The purpose of the Bologna Process is the creation of the European Higher Education Area by making academic degree standards and quality assurance standards more comparable and compatible throughout Europe, in particular under the Lisbon Recognition Convention...
.
Germany
In GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, student societies are widespread 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 Studentenverbindung
Studentenverbindung
A Studentenverbindung is a student corporation in a German-speaking country somewhat comparable to fraternities in the US or Canada, but mostly older and going back to other kinds of...
en; most of them are moderate and tolerant, although many are restricted to male or Christian members.
The counterpart to these more conservative organisations are left-wing and anti-fascist student organisations as Anti-Fa or Praxis (in Bavaria).
On many universities - although in many states not officially recognised - there are student representations, called AStA (Allgemeiner Studenten-Ausschuss), StuVe (Studentische Vertretung) or StuRa (Studentenrat).
Other organisations include European Student Associations and the student organisations of the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
political parties
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
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:
- StudentenverbindungStudentenverbindungA Studentenverbindung is a student corporation in a German-speaking country somewhat comparable to fraternities in the US or Canada, but mostly older and going back to other kinds of...
- Fraternities and sororitiesFraternities and sororitiesFraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
Ireland
Student societies are widespread in Ireland's universities, with a wide range of activities catered for, including debating, role-play, gaming, faculty-based activities, performing arts, political activity etc. The range of support for societies varies from university to university, though all universities provide funding and facilities to some extent for societies.A student society in Ireland is led by a committee or council. The head of the society and the committee is the Auditor, a term first coined for the head of Trinity's College Historical Society.
The Biological Society, RCSI's main student society, is purportedly the oldest student medical society in the world.
See Also:
- College Historical Society
- Literary and Historical Society
- RCSI Biological Society
- UCC Philosophical SocietyUCC Philosophical SocietyThe UCC Philosophical Society, Commonly known as the Philosoph, is the largest debating society at University College Cork, Ireland. The Philosoph was founded in 1850, making it the oldest society at UCC...
- UCD DramsocUCD DramsocUCD Dramsoc is the student drama society of University College Dublin. The society was founded in 1926 and is currently in its 84th session. Since it was founded, the society has had two central objectives which are key to its ethos; firstly to be a breeding ground for emerging talent by pursuing...
- University College Dublin Symphony OrchestraUniversity College Dublin Symphony OrchestraUniversity College Dublin Symphony Orchestra is an Irish orchestra based in University College Dublin.It plays annually in the National Concert Hall in Dublin.- History :...
- University Philosophical Society
Netherlands
In the NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, there are different forms of student societies. Originally there was just the Corps (for corpus studiorosum), student bodies, starting with LSV Minerva in the city of Leiden in 1814, as a part of the governing of the education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
on the universities and to give students the opportunity to develop themselves in all fields of life. On the wave of catholic emancipation
Catholic Emancipation
Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in Great Britain and Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century which involved reducing and removing many of the restrictions on Roman Catholics which had been introduced by the Act of Uniformity, the Test Acts and the penal laws...
starting in the 1890s, small groups of students, gathered around local priests, split off from the liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
, secular (in name anyway) corps fraternities to form their own societies focused on the catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
. This started the formation of many other religious societies in the different university cities. In the second half of the 20th century the Catholic split-offs formed an intercity-connection; the Aller Heiligen Convent and the focus on the religion was lost or abandoned.
These societies are now known as student associations in the Netherlands, aimed mostly at social relations and gezelligheid
Gezelligheid
Gezelligheid is a Dutch abstract noun which, depending on context, can be translated as convivial, cosy, fun, quaint, or nice atmosphere, but can also connote belonging, time spent with loved ones, the fact of seeing a friend after a long absence, or general togetherness...
. Most of the corpora now reside in older buildings in the city center, retaining mostly a rather traditional and conservative image. These organizations offer students a wide range of sports, cultural activities ranging from all levels of sports like field hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
, rowing
Rowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
and rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
to extremes like kitesurfing
Kitesurfing
Kitesurfing or Kiteboarding is an adventure surface water sport that has been described as combining wakeboarding, windsurfing, surfing, paragliding, and gymnastics into one extreme sport. Kitesurfing harnesses the power of the wind to propel a rider across the water on a small surfboard or a...
, glider
Glider (sailplane)
A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the sport of gliding. Some gliders, known as motor gliders are used for gliding and soaring as well, but have engines which can, in some cases, be used for take-off or for extending a flight...
-flying, all for student-friendly prices and development aid organisations and encouragement to start a new club of some sort at all times. especially
The 20th century also saw, especially in the 1960s, the formation of more independent societies at the universities itself, partly as a reaction against the elite status of the corps, abolishing hazing
Hazing
Hazing is a term used to describe various ritual and other activities involving harassment, abuse or humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a group....
and religious links and some even opening up to non-students. These non-Corps student societies are known as study associations (aimed at extracurricular activities for students, such as study trips, lectures, parties or drinks) or are general associations, for sports, literature, arts, etc., founded at the university itself.
Sweden
Student leisure activities in Sweden are usually organised by the students' unionStudents' union
A students' union, student government, student senate, students' association, guild of students or government of student body is a student organization present in many colleges and universities, and has started appearing in some high schools...
s (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
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
for the students so their voices can be heard regarding 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. 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
Uppsala University
Uppsala University is a research university in Uppsala, Sweden, and is the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. It consistently ranks among the best universities in Northern Europe in international rankings and is generally considered one of the most prestigious institutions of...
and Lund
Lund University
Lund University , located in the city of Lund in the province of Scania, Sweden, is one of northern Europe's most prestigious universities and one of Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research, frequently ranked among the world's top 100 universities...
. There, most activities except "trade union" issues are organised by the student nations
Nations at Swedish universities
The student nations or nationer at the two ancient universities in Uppsala and Lund, of which there are now thirteen at each university, are the oldest student societies in Sweden...
, 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
Provinces of Sweden
The provinces of Sweden, landskap, are historical, geographical and cultural regions. Sweden has 25 provinces and they have no administrative function, but remain historical legacies and the means of cultural identification....
from which they traditionally recruited their members, but do not always adhere to the strict practice of limiting membership according to those principles.
International organizations
- AEGEE - European Students Forum
- AIESECAIESECAIESEC is a global youth organisation that develops leadership capabilities through their internal leadership programmes and engaging students and graduates in international student exchange and internship programmes for profit and non-profit organisations. Its international office is in...
- The International Platform for Young People to Explore and Develop their Potential - BESTBoard of European Students of TechnologyBoard of European Students of Technology is an international, non-governmental, non-political, non-profit student organisation comprising 90 Local BEST Groups in 30 countries around Europe with more than 3000 active members....
- Board of European Students of Technology - Colleges Against Cancer
- Delft Management SocietyDelft Management SocietyThe Delft Management Society , is a student organization independent of any educational institution that acts as a bridge between students and the corporate world. The society is focused on the academic, career and social development of Delft University of Technology students. The society is based...
- Erasmus Student NetworkErasmus Student NetworkErasmus Student Network is a European wide student organisation. Its goal is to support and develop student exchange. It is composed of over 12'000 members from more than 370 local sections in 36 countries in Higher Education Institutions, including universities, polytechnics, and university...
- IAESTEIAESTEThe International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience commonly referred to as IAESTE is an international organization exchanging students for technical work experience abroad. Students gain relevant technical training lasting from 4 weeks to 18 months...
- The International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience - IFMSA - The International Federation of Medical Students' Associations
- IPSF - International Pharmaceutical Students' Federation
- ISHAInternational Students of History AssociationThe International Students of History Association is an international non-governmental organization of students of history. Based and active mainly in Europe, ISHA's goals are to facilitate communication and provide a platform of exchange for students of history and related sciences on an...
- The International Students of History Association - NACURHNational Association of College and University Residence HallsThe National Association of College and University Residence Halls Incorporated is an international organization made up of eight regions. The eight regions cover the entire United States, Canada, parts of Mexico, Qatar, and Australia...
- National Association of College and University Residence Halls - OBESSU - Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions
- Secular Student AllianceSecular Student AllianceThe Secular Student Alliance , founded in May 2000, is an independent, democratically structured organization in the U.S. that aims to serve the needs of freethinking high school and college students. The Secular Student Alliance is based in Columbus, Ohio...
- SIFESIFESIFE is an international non-profit organization that works with leaders in business and higher education to mobilize university students to make a difference in their communities while developing the skills to become socially responsible business leaders...
- STAR - Study Association RSM Erasmus University
- Students for the Exploration and Development of SpaceStudents for the Exploration and Development of SpaceStudents for the Exploration and Development of Space is an international student organization whose purpose is to promote space exploration and development through educational and engineering projects.-Mission statement:...
- Toronto Secular Alliance
- BBNMBBNMThe BBNM Group is a global student organization covering students enrolled at 174 universities worldwide. BBNM was founded in Oxford, by students at Oxford University, Parsons The New School for Design, Stockholm School of Economics and Yale University sharing the ambition to bring students closer...
- Global Student Network for Collaboration with the Business World