Growing Pains

Apathy and student involvement

Apathy, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is “freedom from, or insensibility to, passion or feeling; passionless existence.” Apathy in the student body is equated to death on college campuses across the nation. Student interest and involvement, and a willingness and desire to care about the institution and activities on campus, are the lifeblood of collegiate institutions. Apathy, unfortunately, has severely affected the lives of students at Monmouth College.

Too many organizations on campus are struggling to get their members interested and involved; the same small number of students should not have to be active in and in charge of a number of different organizations. Many people, myself included, enjoy complaining about what is wrong and how it should be changed, but lack the initiative to go out there and try to change the problems plaguing this campus. Classes are certainly demanding and require a significant amount of our time and energy, but certainly we are all graced with a fair amount of free time that we can devote to enriching the college experience for everyone. If you are already involved in a club or activity that’s great but see if there is room for anything else in your schedule.

Every morning before most students are awake the baseball team is up and practicing in the Huff Center—running drills, getting in shape, and preparing for something they care a great deal about—playing the game of baseball. We can all learn something from the passion and dedication of these students. College is more then just attending classes, writing papers, and taking exams, we all know this but sometimes we lose focus on what else college is supposed to be about, especially at a liberal arts institution. If you want to hang out with your friends that’s great—why not get a group of them together and attend the next Associated Students of Monmouth College meeting, or ask a friend to go with you to try out for a play, or simply sign up to volunteer with one of the service groups on campus.

In a survey I administered last semester to over 400 students about spiritual life I discovered that only 19% of students were or had been involved with spiritual life activities on campus. I know that more people on this campus have an interest in spiritual life so why not go out and get involved? If you do not think there are programs that fit your needs then say something to the chaplain, or even tell me, and start one of your own. This is not just about spiritual life though; this is about genuine, interested, and active student involvement to help enrich campus life for everyone. Campus life is only what you make of it and getting involved helps everyone, especially you. The next time you see a flyer for a meeting or event that sounds interesting—Dance Team try-outs, Greek recruiting events, or the Conservative Coalition—make sure to attend the meeting and find out what the group is all about.

Enrollment has gone up significantly in the past few years and I hoped that with more students would come a greater level of student involvement, but that is unfortunately not the case. When you graduate you will definitely remember lessons from classes and how many beers you drank that one crazy night, but won’t it also be nice to look back and think about the Relay for Life event you helped plan, the speaker you helped bring to campus, or the music recital that everyone loved? Don’t let other people determine the makeup of this college and what happens here, go out and join a group—any group—and help make this campus your campus.

By Jimmy Thomas

Thomas, a 2005 graduate, is currently at MC for a special Post-Baccalaureate project. Aside from his project, he will be addressing various problems on campus resulting from the rapid growth of the college in the past few years. “Apathy and student involvement” is just one in a series of articles to be featured entitled “Growing pains.”