A drastic decline in campus involvement was one of the main issues raised during last week’s Cultural Coalition meeting.
“It is harder for people to commit because attendance is not mandatory,” International Student Organization Treasurer Adil Hussain ’17 said. “It can be difficult for students to manage everything at once,” he said.
“I wish there was more support from the side of faculty advisors,” Hussain said. “They should encourage students to come to the meetings and check up on the activity of an organization.”
Psychology Club President Sherin Varghese ’16 described student attendance at the club’s meetings and events as “saddening.” “People come to the elections, and if they do not get an executive position, they stop coming,” Varghese said.
Members of executive boards of several clubs, including major-related clubs like the American Marketing Association and Psychology Club, have highlighted that this year it has been especially difficult to gain the attention of first-year students.
One of the main arguments that students give to explain their low attendance is that they are heavily involved in their academics and have no time for extracurricular activities, which raises the question about the expectations people have from their college experience.
Eukaryon, the annually published science magazine of Lake Forest College, allows students no more than two unexcused absences. As a result, every meeting held in Johnson 200 is a full house.
When it comes to organizing campus-wide events and club meetings, organizations often use food as an incentive. Student clubs and organizations offer a unique chance to develop leadership skills and meet people who share the same or drastically different views. They create a platform for students to gain knowledge different from what they would learn in the classroom.
