The WASH, a speech and debate club at UVA, is a club good. At meetings, one’s utility depends on how many people are in the hall. The optimal point is when there are enough people that meetings are lively, and enough room that everyone can sit comfortably.
Each semester, the WASH accepts a new class of provies (provisional members), who must complete a set of requirements to become official members: one debate, one literary presentation, etc. This semester there are 113 provies, and this comes with negative externalities: less opportunity for member participation, increased congestion in the hall, which lead to decreased individual utility.
The WASH can increase the marginal costs of joining by increasing provie requirements. Provies could stay till the end of 3 meetings instead of 1, complete more acts of service, attend more meetings, etc. The WASH could host 2 meetings a week, but marginal cost would increase as meetings are long and the hall has to be reserved/paid. They could set time limits on literary presentations. Overall, the WASH needs to find a balance between marginal benefit of new membership with the marginal cost of crowding.
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