The Committee on Recognized Student Organizations (CORSO) gathers annually in mid-January for their meeting to evaluate the RSO applications that have been submitted during Fall Quarter. Current CORSO Chair and third-year student Jiayi Yue led the proceedings this year.
“We wanted to see that you have considered all the other possibilities and that you have made a strong point for why you should be an individual RSO,” Yue explained in an interview with the College. “That might be explaining crucial differences between your organization and existing RSOs as well as specifying how RSO status can bolster your organization's mission.”
In line with CORSO’s priorities, the prospective RSO application includes questions about the organization’s mission, its top three goals for the next year and the names of at least seven members.
After applications are submitted and CORSO has met, they send their recommendations to Karen Pryor, associate director for co-curricular advising, and Jimmy Brown, the director of center for leadership & involvement, for final review. New RSOs become fully active during the first week of Spring Quarter.
Once they receive RSO status, student organizations gain access to benefits including UChicago’s tax exemption status and access to leadership development workshops. Out of the dozens of applications submitted every year, only 25 to 35 percent are usually approved, per their website. However, the number can vary — this year, the committee saw an almost 40 percent approval rate after processing all appeals.
Yue notes that it’s important that RSO status helps further the group’s projects and impact, not be essential for its survival.
Third-year student Vincent Redwine serves as president of one such club, Students for the Exploration and Development of Space at UChicago (SEDS-UChicago), which obtained RSO status in 2020. SEDS is an international student organization; Redwine said SEDS-UChicago’s founders wanted to fill in a gap on campus for students interested in engineering and the future of space.
“In most of the world, there’s more interest in space, space infrastructure and the exploration of space,” Redwine said. “I think we’re the only UChicago RSO doing that. When people see headlines about Artemis going to the moon, they want to get more involved.”
To keep their students engaged in the study of space, SEDS-UChicago regularly sponsors projects, including during last spring, when they built high-powered model rockets to obtain certifications for high-power rocketry. After researching which launch date lined up with when they finished their rockets, they worked with Quad Cities Rocket Club to launch in Princeton, Ill.
This past November, SEDS-UChicago also organized the 2022 SpaceVision conference, in partnership with its parent organization, in on-campus locations like the Max Palevsky Cinema. Over the three days, panels covered everything from space fellowships to diverse representation in the aerospace industry.
The impact of SEDS-UChicago on Redwine’s life extends beyond campus: he landed an internship at Blue Origin, an aerospace company owned by Jeff Bezos, with the help of current employee and SEDS-UChicago founding President Joalda Morancy, AB’22, who also regularly offers advice to members.
“I think a lot of why we flourished is due to our founding president,” Redwine said. “They graduated last year but they still helped us a lot with planning the conference.”