Spring Break
Potential of academic orgs eclipsed by student apathy
Saad Rizvi
Issue date: 4/28/09 Section: Commentary
According to U.S. News & World Report's recent rankings, at least a couple of dozen state universities are ranked higher than UConn. It should come as a surprise because Connecticut is the richest state in the richest country in the world, which shows that the financial concerns (until recently) and dedicated faculty are not guarantees of rigorous standards. The only thing left out of the picture is a dedicated student body. Indeed, UConn's main problem is its apathetic students who are "too cool" to participate in student clubs or contribute to the intellectual burgeoning of the UConn Community.
The lack of student participation in the University's general affairs can be seen from the fact that only 25 percent of the student body participated in the Undergraduate Student Government elections, whereas apparently twice the number of students partied during the Spring Weekend. Another measure of the student body's aggregate intellect level is the people running to represent it. On one hand, we had a human rights activist, Jason Ortiz, who promised lower punishment for marijuana even though it was theoretically impossible under current state law. On the other hand, we have USG president-elect, Tom Haggerty, who did a terrible job running Freshman Council and does not show the maturity required for a president.
In fact, none of the presidential candidates had anything substantial in their agenda toward improving the intellectual experience at UConn like committing to bringing high-profile speakers or providing incentives to students for organizing student conferences. Just like USG, many other student-run organizations are also facing a dearth of student participation.
Perhaps it is not accurate to say that all student organizations are lacking participation; organizations like fraternities, sororities and club sports are bustling with members, even though they charge fees to their members. However, smaller organizations related to politics or anything without partying or socializing are struggling to attract members.
The lack of student participation in the University's general affairs can be seen from the fact that only 25 percent of the student body participated in the Undergraduate Student Government elections, whereas apparently twice the number of students partied during the Spring Weekend. Another measure of the student body's aggregate intellect level is the people running to represent it. On one hand, we had a human rights activist, Jason Ortiz, who promised lower punishment for marijuana even though it was theoretically impossible under current state law. On the other hand, we have USG president-elect, Tom Haggerty, who did a terrible job running Freshman Council and does not show the maturity required for a president.
In fact, none of the presidential candidates had anything substantial in their agenda toward improving the intellectual experience at UConn like committing to bringing high-profile speakers or providing incentives to students for organizing student conferences. Just like USG, many other student-run organizations are also facing a dearth of student participation.
Perhaps it is not accurate to say that all student organizations are lacking participation; organizations like fraternities, sororities and club sports are bustling with members, even though they charge fees to their members. However, smaller organizations related to politics or anything without partying or socializing are struggling to attract members.
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 4
John
posted 4/28/09 @ 12:13 PM EST
i wouldnt go so far as to equate political activism to intelligence. Many campuses that are big into political activism lose so much contact with the outside world it is quite sad to live there because the propaganda and brainwashing are widespread (insert any small liberal arts college in the northeast). (Continued…)
Jason Ortiz
posted 4/28/09 @ 2:36 PM EST
Saad, I believe this article is a bit misinformed. I think if you look at the history of the groups i'm in involved in I think you'll see that we've brought many great speakers and events to campus. (Continued…)
Jason Ortiz
posted 4/28/09 @ 2:50 PM EST
And i'm sorry i'm high and I forgot to add a clarification on your comment regarding the possibility of changing campus marijuana penalties. It is absolutely possible to convince the administration to change the punishments levied by Community standards and other administrative bodies. (Continued…)
charlie murphy
posted 4/28/09 @ 4:46 PM EST
Saad,
clearly you don't really have any idea how USG works, or any student organization for that matter. Maybe you should put all that money you get paid to write garbage like this to good use, and actually do some research. (Continued…)
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