October 7, 2013

To read the preface, click here.

For many months my motivation has wavered, unsure of whether to pursue fruitless goals. I had lost the creative touch that my childhood was filled with. Today I am more determined and motivated than ever. I am proud to announce the launch of a new student group, a club for students interested in tech. I firmly believe that this will lead to many great friendships, experiences, and possibly businesses.

I have not thought of a name for this yet, so I will refer to it as Student Tech Explorers. We keep our Saturdays sacred.

The Plan #

We go to a central meeting place (cafe, library, etc).

We work on whatever interests us, whether it’s designing a new website, coding a cool mobile app, blogging, or just learning a new programming language. You can work alone or find someone to work with you.

We get to know and learn from each other. Discuss methodology. Tell nerdy jokes. Meet someone else that likes something as much as you do.

We have a good time and support each other when times get tough. Nobody is an outsider.

This might be the group for you if you want to meet socially conscious nerds to work on and talk about interesting things. This group will be a combination of a support group, coworking meetup, entrepreneurship club, networking group, retreat group, and social circle. In the end, we’re just a bunch of friends curious about technology that get together and work on awesome stuff, learning from each other in the process.

This group is open to students only, but you don’t have to be a student in the traditional sense. We accept high school students all the way to grad students and those who are lifelong learners. As long as you are willing to learn from other members in a respectful manner, we’re glad to have you.

Although education and outreach are both important to us, the primary goal is to create a social group for students in and around tech, from all backgrounds, where they feel comfortable and welcome. The group should be a safe place to try (and fail) with new ideas or experiences.

There aren’t regularly organized talks, workshops, or otherwise. We don’t have tickets, we don’t have namebadges. We’re striving to be as disorganized and informal as possible. We will talk about tech a lot but we’d also like to not talk about tech too. At the end of the day we’re just wanting not to be alone when we find ourselves exploring the possibilities of technology.

Impostors Welcome #

If you’re from a background which isn’t well-represented in most geeky meetups, come along - we want to make a difference.

If you’re from a background which is well-represented in most geeky meetups, come along - we want your help making a difference.

If you’re worried about not being experienced enough, come to learn.

If you’re worried about being too experienced, come to teach.

If you think you’re an impostor, come.

If your field of study isn’t code, come.

This isn’t a group of experts, just explorers.

We are interested in the technical and social problems.

This is a coworking and support group. No-one needs to know what they are doing all the time.

The Rules #

A code of conduct applies wherever we gather to work and talk. This is true both in person and online.

We want to be inclusive; do not engage in homophobic, racist, transphobic, ableist, sexist, or otherwise exclusionary behavior. Don’t make exclusionary jokes. Don’t even make them “ironically”.

Don’t harass people. Unconsented physical contact or sexual attention is harassment. Dressing or acting in a certain way is not consent.

Aggression and elitism are unwelcome here - coworking is not a competition.

Although we’re mostly a group of young students, we should act like mature adults. Clearly immature behavior will not be tolerated.

We’d rather you ask about gender than assume, and if you get it wrong, apologize, and use what they prefer.

We think feminism is a good thing. Discussion of how to make tech more inclusive is welcome. Claims that this “has gone too far” aren’t.

It might be a good idea to read about being a good ally or some specific resources for various issues if you’re worried about offending people or acting immature.

Join Us #

If this group is something you would be interested in joining, fill out this Google form and we’ll add you to our mailing list. When we have our first meetup, you will be notified via email. This is still in the planning stages, so feel free to give suggestions on this in the comments.

As of now this is located in the City of Chicago, but others are welcome to start their own chapter wherever they may reside.

Help Wanted #

If you’re a business leader, educator, parent, investor, or any other adult who supports this idea, then we would be thrilled if you could provide guidance, marketing, financial support, or a venue for us. We are also looking for individuals to volunteer for certain tasks as the need arises. Add that you’re interested in helping out when signing up on our mailing list and we’ll get back to you.

Thanks to everyone that has already pledged support, and to those who will do so in the future. I’m excited to see where this will go.

This idea was inspired by a blog post of the same name by Steve Klabnik. The group proposal was based off of a similar group, Computer Anonymous. Other groups that have provided guidance in proposing this includes Indy Startup Lab, the Hacker School, and Jelly Chicago.

You can email me at eric at tendian.io or follow me on Twitter here.

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