Does size matter?

Many student groups on campus say it does — membership size, that is — though having a large membership is not wholly positive.

Some, despite boasting massive email lists, have issues bringing more than 15 people to meetings. Large membership rolls give groups greater ability to create change, but some have had to employ specific techniques to create a tighter, more personal community.

Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, for example, draws 95 to 100 people to worship to sing hymns.

“The hardest part about having a lot of people is it’s harder to get to know people on an individual level,” says Intervarsity President Mindy Schrag ‘10.

To better build community and to provide a space for spiritual exploration, Intervarsity also organizes more intimate, 10- to 20-person Bible studies by dorm.

Leaders of Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA), an umbrella group for the Chicano/Chicana community, described the difficulties arising from their own members’ awareness of their size.

“People see us as being so ‘large and influential’ that they don’t need to get involved,” said co-Chair Bernard Fraga ‘08.

But, he says, there is only a small active membership.

“Ten to 15 people at meetings is not enough to do what we want to,” he said.

As leaders of an umbrella organization, Fraga and his co-Chair Martha Alvarez ‘08 noted that groups that MEChA supports focus on varying topics like tutoring and healthcare, making it imperative to find issues that can bring everyone together.

For other organizations, like the English as a Second Language (ESL) tutoring group Habla, the main challenge of bringing everyone together is simply to figure out how to be in the same place, at the same time, with food.

At the first tutor-training session, for example, the conference room in El Centro Chicano overflowed with 80 students, with some crowding behind the speakers.

At the same time, because Habla tries to cater to each worker’s learning goals, and has no set curriculum for tutors to follow, leaders help out more than they organize and direct. The seven group leaders serve as on-site coordinators to informally check in on the 40 to 50 student-worker pairs, said coordinator Mariana Gonzalez ‘09.

Regardless of the challenges, group leaders and members still say they’re glad to have large numbers of people involved.

Emily Kinney ‘09 notes the importance of the uplifting communal prayer experience provided by Intervarsity’s large group worship.

“If the song is about difficulties, if everyone’s singing,” she said, “there’s a sense that everyone has needed and still needs God’s help.”

At the same time, Kinney feels that small groups provide a space for personal exploration.

“[The] discussion is useful to think through your own feelings,” she said. “There’s no shame in saying ‘I don’t get what’s going on,’ or ‘This hits my ear in this way.’”

MEChA leaders note that their 200-person email list is a benefit when it comes to its advocacy work. Fraga estimated that 60 to 80 people show up to larger rallies, making them highly visible events. For example, two years ago, 30 MEChA members lay on the ground at the Intersection of Death to protest immigration policy. Six years ago, 50 protested police brutality.

At Habla, Gonzalez says that the number of students volunteering ensures enough diversity to find good matches of students and workers. It also allows them to tutor people outside of the Stanford community, mostly friends of custodial workers.

In the end, it is when organizations can overcome the issues that size brings that they can make a difference.

“One year before, I don’t feel sure in the store, for I don’t speak English,” said janitor and Habla tutee Silvia Diaz. “Now I can speak more ... I want to continue with the same support, [until] I able to speak English with every people and I don’t want to need a translator.”