If you were to go the University’s main page, glide your mouse pointer over to the campus life tab and scroll on down about three quarters of the way, you would come across something called the Student Activities Calendar. This well-put-together PDF file contains enough information to keep you busy every weekend from week one of the semester all the way up into the final week of class December.
But despite the numerous events planned out for the student body, why does it still seem that majority of students go home once Friday rolls around?
A suitcase school is a term used to describe a college or university at which students frequently travel home on weekends, creating a lack of involvement and a “ghost town” like environment. Does this sound like Monmouth?
The Student Activities Board and Student Government Association are constantly organizing events around campus, but if you’ve ever gone to these events you’d notice a small turnout and an overall lack of involvement. Who is to blame for this?
More often than not, we hear students quote the famous excuse, “Well I had no idea that was going on, I would have gone if I knew.” To that there is really only one response: read your email! SAB puts up flyers around campus for events all the time, as well as e-mailing students of upcoming events for the week. How else does one expect to find out about campus events? What more effective means is there of reaching the students? Do they expect a knock on their door in their dorm and a personal escort? We, the students have to make the effort.
Some here at the Outlook feel that despite the evident hard work we see by these organizations to get students involved, we are ultimately a suitcase school.
You can’t force students to stick around and you can’t explain to underclassmen that the open mic night in the quad or late night movie marathon in the Oakwood Lounge is going to be more fun than sweating your face off in some basement listening to uncomfortably loud dubstep and drinking so much you don’t remember you how got back to your dorm the next morning. Others acknowledge the hard work put in by the student activity organizations but just don’t feel many of the events are worth sticking around for. Why stay at school for the chance something will be fun when you can go back home to that familiar environment with friends you’ve had your whole life and you know will be fun? Perhaps more student input is necessary when putting together the activities calendar and determining what the majority would f ind is worth staying on campus for.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how well SAB or SGA promotes their events or even how exciting their events are. It’s up to the students. If you no longer want to brace yourself for the inevitable “I’m going home” in response to “What are you doing this weekend?” then we have to make a change.
If you live on campus, stick around and check out that event Friday night. Why not? Most of us have four years here, maybe five, and then it’s on to the real world; if I’ve learned anything from my friends who have graduated it’s that you’ll be wishing you had the option to hang out on a college campus every weekend. You have no excuse not to try new things, meet new people and get involved with a University you should be proud to say you go to.
