The largely appealing factor for many students when deciding to attend SVSU is the affordability of tuition, but when students actually get here, they often find very little to do after classes, if not stay in their dorms.
If students are not at their dorms, they are generally either at one of the few dining options or simply doing something more fun off campus.
It is true: campus has become boring these days. As on-campus events have become less frequent over the years, especially in winter, many students go to class, get food, and go home. This is the average routine for most students, and with so few things to do here on campus, who can blame anyone for this simplistic routine?
The question should not be why campus has become boring, since the simple answer is COVID-19, but rather, what the student body can do to restore the fun.
Many students join RSOs for fun, but how many RSOs actually bring culture to campus? Many clubs have a super niche target audience, such as Greek Life and religious RSOs.
Many students find themselves hesitant to make such commitments. Daniel Schneider, a freshman biology major, agreed.
“[It’s] good for bonding with people in the RSO, but to someone in the middle of the semester who’s looking to just chill out with other people it can be off-putting,” he said. “They’d be under the impression they’d either have to catch up or join a group where everyone else already knows each other.”
While this idea is important for the culture of campus and different organizations, Schneider also felt there was still fun to be had at SVSU. “I would say that I’ve had a lot of fun on campus; it’s not all boring in my opinion,” he said.
“There’s always something to do with all of the open RSO events and clubs that you can become a part of.”
Both things can be true, however. While some may find the commitment to an RSO challenging, especially clubs with a more tightly cast target audience, many RSO events are open to everyone on campus, even non-students.
These ideas can correlate, though, as many students attend these events for vastly different reasons instead of simply looking for something to do.
For example, someone attending an annual fall event like the TiKiE Party, hosted by Tau Kappa Epsilon, a Greek Life Fraternity on campus, may be interested in joining a Greek organization. Furthermore, someone who attends His House may be a Christian and attend solely for community and religious purposes.
Cody Randall, a junior general business major, transferred here from Ferris State
University. He believes that campus needs more large-scale events that serve the entire SVSU community, rather than numerous small events that target specific audiences.
When asked what he believes would make campus less boring, he said, “Campus would be more fun with more large-scale campus events, like a small fair.”
The funny thing about this, however, is that there already is a yearly fair. Held almost yearly by Student Life, appropriately named “Spring Fest,” near the end of the winter semester, a small fair open to all students shows up almost overnight in the President’s Courtyard. This event always has a good turnout for student attendance and often receives good reviews.
Sadly, this event has not been held in nearly two years. This is something many upperclassmen look forward to, and it is a tradition that is fading. While the issue isn’t that RSOs are too niche or that something is wrong with the students, it is rather that events like the annual fair are a strange rarity these days.
It isn’t hopeless, though, as there is much to be done to fix this. It is in the best interests of the student body to join RSOs that host public events, such as Student Life and Student Association. Here, students can take on leadership roles that not only build their resume but also bring campus back to life.
