By Charlotte Cassity

The Songwriting Club of SU has announced that they are officially founded and ready for new members to join.

“We started this group to create opportunities for people to share their songs and to share their work; to create a space where we can share together the passion of songwriting,” says Jacqueline Burroughs, vice president and co-founder. “We didn’t have anything on campus like this before, and we wanted a safe space specifically.”

Members have been waiting since May of last year, at its original founding, to begin officially inviting students to their activities and workshops. President Alaina Droog is extremely excited to see any and all new faces at the club’s bi-monthly meetings at 4:30 p.m. on Fridays in Ruebush Hall.

“It all started with a song made by me and a friend in the back of a car, and the idea to make a space and club for exactly this kind of thing just became a realization to us,” said Droog. “I feel like those are things that deserve to be heard and put on display, not just in the backseat of someone’s car… To give these stories their moments to shine.”

That’s why she says they host their workshops, where people can come and share music or songs they have written, and even perform them in an environment where they can get feedback and have others hear their work. Droog said that people can just show up and watch others perform and share just so they can learn from the process of others and gain exposure.

“I feel like a lot of people are interested in it and are just like it’s so scary, and it is because I feel like songwriting is such a vulnerable thing, very personal,” said Droog. While she says there are no “formal” positions inside the club, Droog is noted as the co-founder and president, while Burroughs is the vice president and co-founder. Both are senior students of the conservatory at SU.

In addition to songwriting, there are also some who come with instruments. Students are welcome to bring any instrument they play and share their creations with other attendees. Members of the club were present at the Fall Club Fair, and they hope to be at many more in the future to share their club with more people on campus. They hope to encourage students who aren’t conservatory students to join as well.

“Our big goal is to provide a safe space to share original music and to collaborate with other people; to make our songs known,” Droog said. “I feel like that’s one thing because a lot of people make songs and they really wanna share them but don’t have opportunities or spaces to do that or even just wanting to learn more about writing music.”

There is no cost to join the club, however, fundraising and sharing of their work through a concert are being considered as options for raising money. “I think it’s great,” Burroughs said. “I think that the club, the workshops we have done so far were very successful, and I thought that it was everything. For the future of the club, finding underclassmen members that will keep the club going is really important, which is something we need to do.”