All colleges have a specific culture to their campus. Some are tight-knit, others full of school spirit, and some that lack unity within the student body. The Outlook editorial staff explained what they believe is the campus culture at Monmouth University.
“I think overall, Monmouth lacks unity. I find that people remain within the group that they feel comfortable in whether it be for their club or sport and are not open to engaging with the rest of the student body, making Monmouth feeling split,” one editor said.
Another editor explained, “I think the campus culture is a little divided, mainly between people in Greek life vs. those who are not. But, in general, I think people who want to get involved on campus create a really great community; though, I do feel like less and less students care to join clubs and attend events year after year.”
There are many reasons as to why students are not connected with one another. “I think too many students wake up, go to class and go back to their rooms. I think too many people go home on the weekends. I think this contributes to the feeling of a campus that’s not as connected…” one editor commented.
The culture surrounding sporting events at Monmouth has traditionally been socializing before the game begins. One editor said, “I honestly never attend sporting events at school except homecoming, and even then, I usually leave before the game officially starts.”
Another editor believes the tide is changing in terms of turnout at sporting events,“I think athletic events present a great opportunity to have fun with friends and show school spirit. The basketball games recently have been on fire with student turnout and hype. I know SGA has been working to build a more solidified student section that can hopefully make games for all sports next year fun and exciting.”
There are different cultures within Monmouth, especially within the clubs and organizations the students typically opt to get involved with. One editor commented, “If it’s well-known among the student body, I think of SGA, Hawk TV and SAB. If it’s popular in terms of people wanting to be involved, I think of Greek life…” They continued, “I think there’s a perception maybe Greek life is too closed off, in their own world. This is the same for sports teams and other clubs, who don’t really interact outside of their own bubbles. I think if it were less closed off, with different groups interacting more often, that could improve the culture.”
Another editor believes that the community lies within specific groups on campus. “I think individual schools have a more tight-knit community, like how the communication clubs sometimes do shared events. However, I don’t think Monmouth as a whole is that tight-knit but I chalk that up to a lot of students not wanting to get involved on campus past simply attending their classes,” they explained.
Could Monmouth foster a strong sense of community? One editor said, “I believe the campus culture of Monmouth can be something really special if people try. I honestly think Monmouth could be the school where people play frisbee on Shadow Lawn, spike ball on the Res Quad and set up a slip n’ slide behind the soccer field. We just need people to try.”
“I think if we had more engagement at athletic events, more wiffleball games on the lawn spaces and more spike ball tournaments, we could build that kind of tight-knit community,” one editor concluded.
For now, it seems that the perception of Monmouth University culture is one of disconnect and a lack of engagement. Changing this starts with the students, investing more time and energy to participate within the campus community, outside of the classroom.
