Drew Smith '10 has never skydived or started an official student group. But if he has his way this semester, he'll do both in one fell swoop.
Smith's Brown Skydiving Club is hoping to be granted official student group status and receive funding to facilitate jumps for interested students.
Smith, who said he has wanted to try skydiving for some time, conceived the idea after learning of a similar group at Brandeis University from a friend. Because the Brandeis group only served Brandeis students, Smith contemplated a similar club for Brown over winter break.
A month later, he has drafted and revised a constitution for the club and is currently in the process of gauging interest in the group.
The Undergraduate Council of Student's Student Activities Committee requires a minimum of 15 member signatures for a club to receive University funding, but Smith said he has so far collected the signatures of 242 students who have expressed interest in the group. He has also created the "Brown Skydiving Initiative" group on Facebook, which boasted 60 members Wednesday night.
Smith said he plans to bring a handful of supporters with him to pitch the club to the Committee on Monday, adding that he expects them to grant the group Category I status. UCS Student Activities Chair Ryan Lester '11 said most groups start off at Category I, which does not entitle groups to University funding.
"It's very rare for a group to start at a Category II or III," Lester said, adding that a student group generally has the opportunity to move up a category after a semester.
But because skydiving is expensive, Smith said he hopes the group can quickly move up the category classifications to receive funding from the Undergraduate Finance Board.
"We're pushing for Category III," Smith said. "It certainly won't happen right away, but we hope it can as soon as possible so we can apply for a budget."
In the meantime, Smith said he hopes to work with the Brown Outing Club until the skydiving group becomes more stable financially. Smith said some skydiving facilities provide discounts for large groups, alleviating a part of the financial burden.
Because of the dangerous nature of skydiving, Smith also said he'll probably meet with a University lawyer and might draft a waiver statement. Smith said that precedent is on his side because skydiving groups exist at other schools.
If approved, the group will have to wait until at least April for skydiving season before they can make any jumps. Smith said he has looked into licensed facilities, including the one Brandeis uses in Orange, Mass.
Though the group might take some time to get off the ground, club co-organizer and Herald Sales Director Phil Maynard '11 said he thinks the group could ultimately bring positive attention to Brown.
"People might choose colleges for eccentric facets, so this could be an aspect that attracts students," he said.
