r/NAU • u/WildEarth2372 • 4h ago
Would anyone be interested in a club like this?
Note: The soonest I would start this club would be Spring of 2027, as this semester is a bit hectic for me
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So, I’m a cybersecurity student with interests in activism, sustainability, and disaster preparedness—both in the individual (like “what if someone starts stalking me”) as well as the communal (like “what if I get displaced by a wildfire”). In case you couldn’t tell by those three interests, I watched The Walking Dead as a kid and my family fled Louisiana shortly after Katrina, so I have always believed that the only way a community survives when SHTF is by pulling together and supporting each other.
I’ve also recently learned of the C-CERT program, which is a program offered by FEMA for college clubs where club members can train to do low-level (read NOT DANGEROUS) volunteer work during disasters alongside first responders.
Thus, I’m considering starting a club next semester (working name Safehouse Training and Fellowship, also known as SHTF or Safehouse) that focuses on perhaps the most underrated-yet-absolutely-vital part of activism; intentionally growing your community.
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The basic idea of this club would be in four parts
1.) We meet every week to learn and share practical skills (like self-defense, how to mend, basic repairs, situational awareness, etc). Sometimes bringing in people from around town, sometimes bringing in collaborators from other clubs, but also members can volunteer to teach the basics of a skill they know that they think could benefit everyone
2.) We have an ongoing Discord group chat where people can offer and receive support on things they’re struggling with (like meal sharing, transportation, or just plain old stress), both in the practical help and in words of comfort and kindness
3.) If there are major widespread issues around campus that we feel need to change (like de-flocking, cult awareness, or making the campus a sanctuary for immigrants), we can peacefully (so we don’t get banned) rally with other clubs to bring about positive change for our campus community
4.) Every semester, we’ll offer training for C-CERT so that people can learn to safely volunteer during disasters. This will be open to both club members and non-members, but note that non-members will likely have to pay a small fee just to cover costs
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I’ll be honest; I was event coordinator for years in my high school, but I’ve never been club president before. Thus I’m also not sure if this club idea is something people would be interested in joining. However, I wanted to put feelers out there just to see, in case there’s any way we can actively strengthen our community.
However, there is so much that troubles us nowadays, and many of us feel isolated by it. By intentionally joining together as a community, we go from the single voices of a half-dozen strangers to the palpable sound of an army.
So…would anyone be interested in joining this club?