Lack of participation: Faculty and staff members and even student organizations have been complaining that Dillard students aren’t getting involved with activities.

The questions we often hear are: Why don’t students participate more? Why do students show up for this, but don’t show up for that? Yes, students at Dillard don’t participate as much as they should.

But why is that? When administrators or those organizations complain about this issue, they need to stop and think about how much notice they actually give students instead of pointing the finger. Some of these events that students don’t show up to are either posted the night before, the day of or literally hours before the event actually starts.

For example, a senior body meeting notice was posted the day of the meeting.  Another example was Dr. Dewain Lee’s farewell celebration – announced by email at 6 p.m. the evening before.

We can go on and on, but I think you get the point: We have lives, and you can’t expect us to show up at the spur of the moment like we have nothing else to do.

Timing is also key. Certain events cannot compete with others. An example of this was the probate event last fall and a performance of “Miss Evers’ Boys,” which posed a problem for members of the cast and crew. (Additionally, there were fewer people in the audience than cast and crew.) Surely, if we had an effective master calendar, someone could have pointed out the two events would compete, and probate could have been rescheduled. This is a small campus, and it’s not as if we have so many activities that these should compete.

Of course, we’re not completely innocent. Administrators are not just to blame for the lack of participation:  A select few give repeated notice about activities well in advance, and students still don’t show up.

One example was the annual Honda Campus All-Star Challenge Tournament last November, which had the potential to bolster Dillard’s reputation nationally while offering the participating students cash and a free trip. But the coordinator, Dr. Carla Morelon-Quainoo, needed 32 people to participate. She ended up canceling the event for lack of interest.

For those events, students often say, “Why do we hear about events at the last minute?” However, the question should be, “Why don’t students check their Dillard email?” Only a handful of us actually use and read emails from our Dillard email accounts. Some of us don’t even read the bulletin boards.

Rather than just complain, here’s what we suggest to resolve the problem:

          ·          ITT should fix whatever is wrong with the email system

          ·          If students cannot access their Dillard email account, they should go figure out why.

          ·          Students should read the bulletin boards.

          ·          Administrators should require that all students use their Dillard email system – once it works properly.

          ·          Event planners must stop posting information at the last minute!

          ·          Event planners should give more than one notice.

          ·          Finally, we students must try to broaden our scope and attend events that involve more than cheering for the team and/or partying.

We can continue to go back and forth, but at some point, each of us will to have to take responsibility and be accountable. We all are responsible for the problems that occur on campus, and we are responsible for the solutions.