Frequently Asked Questions

More information coming soon!

No! As a matter of fact, the majority of our club members are not Japanese. This is a social and cultural club, meaning anyone interested in meeting new people and learning more about Japanese culture is encouraged to join! Our events and themes are Japanese related, and our goal as an organization is to spread this culture to Carnegie Mellon students.

Typically, we hold member recruiting during the first two weeks of the fall semester. However, if you happen to miss the recruiting season, don't worry! We also enroll members on a rolling basis. Please email () for more information on how to become a JSA member.

Please email () to join our mailing list!

We do expect our members to attend every JSA-held event, but we also understand that CMU students are busy people! If you let us know at least 24 hours prior to an event that you will not be able to attend (with a valid reason), you will be excused from the event.

Depends! We have some events that are meant for the entire CMU community and some meant for club members. Typically, our recruiting, cultural, and fundraising events will be open to the whole school. This includes our biggest event of the year, Matsuri! Notable examples of events JSA members can only attend are our General Board Meetings and Mini Cook Events.

For our first-years, we have a position on the Executive Board called the Freshman Representative. We elect anywhere from one to three representatives in the Fall to serve for the entire school year. These Freshman Representatives (Fresh Reps) will help us get insight into the First Year experience and how JSA can support it, as well as into the workings of the JSA Executive Board.

Another common way is to join a subcommittee! These are committees that specialize in a certain area of event preparation, such as decorations and cooking! Being a part of one means you will have direct impact on the logistics and types of events JSA will hold in the future.

If you have ANY feedback on events, activities, or the organization as a whole, please fill out this feedback form. The Executive Board will take all these suggestions seriously and they will be discussed at the weekly Executive Meetings. We will keep you in the loop regarding follow up questions, as well as the status of the suggestion.