Of these, almost all were references to a "cosmopolitan club" in some context not related to a Cosmopolitan Club Web site (e.g., a resume in which the person listed membership in a cosmopolitan club). But these references revealed the existence, either currently or in the past, of cosmopolitan clubs in New York City; Santa Barbara, California; Auckland and several other cities in New Zealand; Lawrence, Kansas; Beloit, Wisconsin; India; Columbia, Missouri; Sioux City, Iowa; and Boulder Colorado. There were also references to cosmopolitan clubs at Purdue University; Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee; the University of British Columbia; Harvard University; University of Nebraska at Kearney; Iowa State University; and Berea College in Berea, Kentucky.
Of these Cosmopolitan Clubs, most of them do not appear to be clubs in the nature of our own Cosmo Club, i.e., university- affiliated organizations dedicated to international student affairs. They include a literary club (Austin Peay), several related organizations that support diabetes research (e.g., Lawrence and Boulder) and diabetes research and local parks development (Columbia), a club that provides travel services for its members (Royal Cosmopolitan Club of India), and a club that provides santas at local Christmas events in order to distribute gifts to special education children and nursing home residents.
Besides all these, there are at least two Cosmopolitan Clubs that are similar in function to the Cosmopolitan Club at the University of Illinois, those at the Universities of Delaware and Kentucky. But only the University of Delaware has a significant Web presence.
The Cosmopolitan Club at the University of Kentucky (UK), known by its members as (surprisingly enough!) "Cosmo," was founded in 1949. According to the club's faculty advisor, Hege Ravdal, the club's members are international and American undergraduate and graduate students and other interested people. The club has about 35 members and an executive committee of 8 officers. The club holds biweekly meetings in the UK's Office of International Affairs building. When the meeting business is completed, members watch a movie or enjoy a potluck dinner. Other club activities include whitewater rafting, caving, camping, and hiking trips; and regular parties, such as the club's annual Halloween costume party and Valentine's Day dance.
Between events, club members communicate primarily by e-mail. The UK Cosmo Club has discontinued the printing of its newsletter and now distributes the newsletter strictly by e-mail. A Web site is "under construction" but there is no completion date. You might check the International Affairs section of the UK Web site to see whether this Cosmo Club Web site appears. The section's URL is:
The University of Delaware (UD) Cosmopolitan Club is the only other (besides the U of I's) Cosmopolitan Club with a substantial Web presence. The UD Cosmo home page can be found at:
The UD Cosmo Web site provides the same sort of information that our Cosmo Club Web site provides, such as general information about the club and a monthly schedule of the club's activities.
Pete Evans, secretary of the UD Cosmopolitan Club, does not believe that the Web site has so far had a great effect on the Club; the site is more in the nature of an archive of club information. But he expects the site to be very useful in the future. This usefulness depends on two factors: (1) the rapid posting of accurate and up-to-date information on the Web site; and (2) members' routine checking of the Web site for club information. Secretary Evans feels these factors will be commonplace within the next year. And he warns that one can get a slightly misleading view of the Club if one looks solely at the Web site. To know the Cosmo Club, one must also understand the person-to-person connections: people telling their friends about club events, members being friendly to new arrivals by engaging them in conversations, members inviting new arrivals to coffee hours and other club events.
And this is certainly true of the U of I's Cosmo Club. We are predominantly people trying to be kind to and sharing with other people. Hopefully, our Web site can provide us with a base of reliable information to assist us in this kindness and sharing. By "linking" (electronically and socially) to Cosmo Clubs elsewhere, we cosmo clubs may be better able to help each other fulfill our missions.