Involvement at Allegheny

Linda Sax’s essay on citizenship development during the college years was very interesting and insightful. Sax argues that the college years are a critical time for developing three specific aspects of citizenship: commitment to social activism, sense of empowerment, and community involvement. Sax feels that college campus life strongly influences these three aspects of citizenship, and positive influences will lead to more social activism in the years after college. The question we must focus on is do college campuses, specifically Allegheny’s campus, influence students to get involved? I am of the opinion that Allegheny’s campus life does influence its students to be involved and actively engaged, however some students are not listening. Allegheny offers many organizations and opportunities that foster activism and community involvement, however many students fail to take advantage of these opportunities, and this has led to an overall decline in activism on Allegheny’s campus.

When I first came to Allegheny as a freshman, I was a member of the Men’s Basketball team. I was so busy trying to learn how to balance my studies with basketball that I did not fully realize all of the different organizations Allegheny offers. Only after I decided not to continue with basketball did I learn of the many groups I could become a part of. In my opinion, I feel Allegheny does a fine job in advertising the many different ways students can become involved on campus. The Activities Fair is always crowded with students anxious to sign up for groups or clubs that sound interesting. Just browsing the list of groups, there is something for just about everyone. Even if a club is missing, new clubs are formed every year bringing together students with common interests. The Campus Center always has flyers and posters for organizations, inviting anyone to attend the next meetings. The number of groups on campus makes it easy for students to find at least one that they identify with. In providing support to these groups, I feel Allegheny does influence its students to be involved and active on campus.

Allegheny’s Residence Life Office also does a good job of trying to involve incoming freshmen and current students. Speaking from personal experience as a former Resident Advisor in a freshmen dormitory, part of my job required the completion of CBAs, or Community Building Activities. I was required to organize hall programs or events that involved everyone’s interests, and met a number of different criteria such as academic, social, diversity, service, and wellness. It was a way to build community, as well as encouraging conversations and relationships on the hall. Most of the CBAs were very successful, although I sometimes had to knock on a few doors to encourage students to come. However, by the end of the year, many of my residents were asking me when the next CBA would be. In this way, Allegheny definitely fostered the building of relationships and interconnectedness among students.

While Allegheny provides many opportunities to be involved on campus, it is unfortunate that some students still choose to remain isolated from social activism and community involvement. Students cannot be forced to do something they truly don’t want to do, and some students prefer to remain alone watching television or playing video games. Other students remain involved in groups and organizations, but only minimally. These students just attend the required meetings and events so they at least feel like they are participating. There has been speculation of an overall decline in activism among students, not just at Allegheny, but everywhere. I honestly don’t believe it is necessarily the fault of the colleges, but more a fault of the students. It is up to us to become involved and practice activism during our college years. Being involved in college and building strong relationships will result in positive experiences later in life. Continued involvement in citizenship issues will also help create a better place and world for everyone. Allegheny, while not perfect by any means, is setting the table for us to be involved, but to steal a slogan from Nike, we need to just do it.