Last week, four high school students came to my news-gathering class on a tour of the Manship School of Mass Communication. My professor asked me to give them advice and on a whim, I told them plainly to get involved.
No matter how stressful you think your classes are, I said, no matter how little time you think you have, your resume looks so much better if you are involved in multiple organizations.
I probably should have elaborated more.
A student can sign-up and pay their dues for a ton of organizations, copy and paste the names to their resume in large quantities, and yet not have anything to show in terms of accomplishments or learned skills in that organization.
What gives the organization’s name on your resume much more oomph is what you’ve contributed to that organization.
In other words, while putting 20 or so organizations on your resume may look good to some people, investigating a little further would show the work one did in those organizations really proves the student’s leadership qualities.
This weekend, I attended Up ’til Dawn, a fund-raising event for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. It was probably one of the few times I attended an event as a student and not as a journalist.
You see, being an editor at The Reveille is time-consuming to the point where it is the only thing you do outside of going to class.
True, I would love to be involved in other organizations, but that’s not possible in my position.
Still, it was refreshing to see others involved in a good cause. It was a fantastic event and the Up ’til Dawn executive board did an excellent job. But there was something I noticed that I think was a little troubling.
Most of the 100 or so students who attended Up ’til Dawn I consider student leaders. The event was a who’s who of people from Student Government, Student Senate, Union Program Council, fraternities and sororities and many others.
If you attend other events such as Tigers After 10, you will find most of the people there are well-known student leaders as well.
Although both of these events are great and tons of fun, it’s upsetting to know that most in attendance are the student leaders.
I found myself wondering where is the average student?
At last night’s SG Debate in the Union, candidates stressed the importance of involving every student and hearing all of their concerns.
But how can they reach out to those students if the average student won’t even attend activities and fun events?
It’s only the “involved” students that are the ones attending campus events, speaking their minds at Chats with the Chancellor and most times, putting in a vote in SG, Black Student Union and Resident Hall Association elections.
The “involved” students are the ones Reveille employees get to know when they cover events. They are the ones who have informed and enlightening things to say about the campus community because they see what’s going on and hang out with others who are just as informed.
And why is it this way? Why are the ones at events such as Up ’til Dawn the ones who are really involved? Is it because they tend to band together in a close-knit community? Is it because of their presence on campus?
I’m sure the “involved” students on campus make up a small amount in the overall student body. Is this why we have such an apathetic campus?
If the involved students are part of a close-knit community, then doesn’t that — in a way — alienate those who aren’t involved? Maybe uninvolved students don’t feel accepted at campus events.
In light of the SG Debate last night, and in light of elections today, maybe this is something candidates need to think about. Maybe it’s also something the “involved” students need to think about.
And maybe it’s something the average student needs to think about.