Editorial
At UWRF, campus engagement still leaves a lot to be desired
February 9, 2017
Among its students, UW-River Falls has a pervasive reputation as a suitcase school. Students who live on campus notice residence hall parking lots largely empty on the weekends, as many students decide to head home after the first few weeks. Unfortunately, many student organizations and campus departments notice a similar trend.
Members of different student organizations may start the semester off strongly, with meetings and events heavily attended by students eager to get involved. Some may experience booming numbers of people interested after events like the Involvement Fair.
However, those optimistic numbers begin to taper off shortly after. Much like we decide that we don’t need to be here on the weekends, we’re guilty of deciding that we don’t need to focus on campus involvement.
To be fair, it makes sense. After all, many of us are trying to keep up to speed with our classes while also working, trying to have a social life and trying to get enough sleep. It may feel like there are not enough hours in the day to do everything we need to do, never mind trying to add extra fun and engagement to our schedules.
Still, campus engagement plays a vital role in finding one’s place on campus and feeling connected to university life. We can become friends with total strangers based on shared interests. We can make a difference in the community by volunteering. We can do all kinds of fantastic things, and we should!
It is not all up to us as intrigued students, though. The leaders of student organizations can take a few steps to make sure that those who are interested stay interested. For example, consistent communication can make a huge difference. In this age of social media use, it’s admittedly hard to get everyone on the same page! Keeping an updated FalconSync page can also help, as a curious student will know he or she is contacting the right person in charge and showing up at the right times and dates.
Maybe what we need is something more like easier exposure to our opportunities outside of FalconSync. Perhaps a current list of active student organizations could be placed under the “Quick Links” section of our university’s website.
We encourage everyone to head to FalconSync for now and explore the possibilities. You never know what kind of group might be waiting for you.