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By Rachel Makabi

Daily Bruin Reporter

As student groups rush to recruit new members during the Undergraduate Students Association Council’s Welcome Week, their methods of attracting people are as diverse as the focuses of the groups themselves.

With more than 500 student groups registered with the Center for Student Programming, the organizations serve different purposes, and the manner by which they attract members range from throwing large parties in Los Angeles clubs to holding signs that advertise their ideologies.

“Does it really matter what fraternity or sorority you join when millions of people are starving to death?” said Marc Lispy, a fifth-year philosophy student and member of the Socialist Action Group as he read the message off a sign he was holding.

Lispy said his sign on Bruin Walk was meant to criticize groups that only focus on social events instead of advocating political and social reform.

“We have a lot of people who respond well to our signs,” Lispy said. “It really reflects the type of person who will join – someone who is concerned about bigger social issues.”

Some socially-oriented groups use social events as a way for members to meet others who can identify with their religious and cultural backgrounds.

Anup Suresh, a member of the Indian Student Union and a fourth-year computer science and engineering student, said his group notified people of a large back-to-school party by passing out flyers and sending out mass e-mails.

Other groups use social events to attract members so they can later become involved in the organization’s main activities.

Alpha Phi Omega pledge master Alicia Louie, a fourth-year biochemistry student, noted this combination in the co-ed fraternity by showing the community service events they are doing during rush week, while also having a large barbecue for members to meet one another.

Others stressed that their groups are meant for people who share the same interests.

Gion Coluso, a UCLA alumnus and a member of the UCLA Ocean Discovery Center Club, said the purpose of the group is to recruit members for the UCLA Ocean Discovery Center in Santa Monica.

“We don’t have a big bash or anything like that, but if someone is interested, they will just come up to us and let us know,” Coluso said.

He said his group tables on Bruin Walk, has a glass case set up in the Life Sciences Building and makes announcements in classes.

No matter what the purpose of an organization is, USAC financial supports commissioner Kim Coss said getting involved in a group is the best way to meet people “and learn what this university has to offer as well as a way for you to show the university what you have to offer.”

Despite the large amount of groups on campus, some students said it is still difficult to find the right group to join.

“Sometimes it is kind of overwhelming because they are looking for a certain type of person, and if you aren’t like them, you just keep on walking,” said Sharna Ettenberg, a first-year undeclared student.

Her friend, Jessica Torin, also a first-year undeclared student, said she has had a chance to see groups with which she might have never gotten involved.

“Their methods of getting members appeal to different types of people,” Torin said.