I would recommend against using a road bike for commute since road bikes seem to get stolen more often. Also if you're buying a road bike, an internet warehouse is probably the last place you want to buy it from. You don't know your size. You can't test ride the bike. Heck, you don't even know if you like riding road bikes. I know plenty of people that bought $3k bikes but just hated the riding position.

Since you're starting up a cycling club, I assume you know some enthusiastic cycling buddies. Assuming you're broke, I would ask one of the veterans to size you up and help you look for a second-hand bike on craigslist. It would be more ideal if you could get fitted at a shop but it's expensive for a college kid.