INVOLVED
budget plan to a panel of elect
ed student officials. At the budget
hearings each organization must
explain its mission, its achieve
ments and how its activities benefit
the campus community.
Debby Schwartz, director of cam
pus recreation at UNCA, said a por
tion of student fees are given to the
athletic department, allowing for
students to attend sporting events
without having to pay at the door.
“Students are paying for it, wheth
er they use it or not,” Schwartz said.
How many students take advan
tage of these opportunities?
The recreation center offers a
wide variety of activities for all
UNCA students. Some activities
offered include the gym, zumba
classes, intramural sports and out
door recreation.
Schwartz said about 50 percent of
UNCA students take advantage of
the recreation center.
Some larger organizations on
campus keep estimates on the total
number of students who attend their
events. The Student Government
Association estimates most of its
events this year have been a suc
cess. Charlie White, former SGA
president, said SGA had a fairly
successful year of events.
“Some of our biggest being
last semester's presidential de
bate screenings that saw turnout
of around 90 toll5 students each.
Another of our bigger events, A
Conversation on the Election and
its Outcomes, was co-hosted with
several other campus organiza
tions and saw 75 to 100 attendees,”
White said.
In the past, SGA had difficulty
keeping track of attendance at their
events. New forms of keeping track
of attendance are being looked into.
“We're also looking forward to
being able to better track this infor
mation using the new UNCA Now
system. We just used it for the first
time at one of our last programs of
the semester, the Black-Jew Di
alogues, which saw 65 turn out,”
White said.
When describing the new system.
White said the application allows
the organization to not only keep
track of who attends the event and
how many people are attending, but
to also collect data on the demo
graphics of the attendees.
All events hosted by Underdog
Productions are free for all student
and faculty at UNCA. During the
2016-17 school year, UP held more
than 100 events on campus ranging
from Live at Lunches to movies in
the Grotto.
At almost every UP event in the
2016-2017 school year, attendance
was tracked using Checkpoint. This
app allows UP members to scan a
student’s OneCard and record their
attendance.
Student attendance varies
The numbers UP records at each
event get compiled into a list used
by UP members when planning for
future events. Attendance ranged
from 10 students to 300 students at
various events throughout the year.
UP splits into four committees
who plan different events for stu
dents to attend. The four commit
tees include Movies and Film, Acts
and Performances, Homegrown
and Awareness.
In each committee, attendance
dropped from first semester to
second semester. The numbers re
corded at each event shows the av
erage attendance dropped around
31 percent for the Movies and
Film committee, 3 percent for Acts
and Performances, 10 percent for
Homegrown and 56 percent for
Awareness.
Schwartz said she notices a vari
ation in attendance at the recreation
center.
“It usually decreases a little as
the semester goes on. I think people
get busier. I think sometimes in the
spring when the weather gets nic
er some people end up doing some
recreation outside,” Schwartz said.
“We are really busy January and
February because of New Year's
resolutions.”
Why aren't students getting in
volved?
A number of things could be
the cause of stu4ents not getting
involved on campus. Tugas said
students may not get involved due
to the difficulty transitioning from
high school to a university.
“We find that a lot of students,
their freshman year, choose not to
get involved and that’s OK. They
are still adjusting. They are still try
ing to figure everything out,” Tugas
said.
Another reason that students are
not getting involved may be be
cause they are nontraditional stu
dents, Tugas said. Students who
fall outside of the 18-22 age range
may have families they need to take
care of or may have a job. Trans
fer students may not feel at home
at UNCA. Students who live off
campus may find it difficult to en
gage with the campus community
because they do not live within it.
“It is much easier for us to cap
ture the on-campus residential stu
dent because they are a part of a
larger campus community,” Tugas
said.
Elizabeth Berkeley, management
student at UNCA, said she thinks
some students do not get involved
because they do not feel UNCA
has an organization that focuses on
what they are passionate about.
“Every student should get in
volved in something. There are so
many organizations on this campus
that have something for everyone.
If there is not an organization for
something you are passionate to
ward then it is pretty easy to start
one of your own,” Berkeley said.
Getting involved benefits stu
dents
Getting involved on campus can
provide students with unique op
portunities to gain personal expe
riences and professional skills ac
cording to Lauren Bulla, former UP
Acts and Performances committee
director..
“Student involvement is an in
credible way to grow not only as a
leader but as a learner, because get
ting involved stretches our capacity
to engage with new ideas and inter
pretations of the world around us,”
Bulla said.
Bulla said by getting involved
with a campus community, students
get the chance to support their cam
pus and uncover new passions.
“We are looking to bring on a
co-curricular transcript that will
complement a student's academic
transcript,” Tugas said. “It will out
line their involvement on campus,
their volunteerism and some lead
ership development programs they
attended.”
Tugas said providing both a cur
ricular transcript and a cocurric-
ular transcript can allow a student
the opportunity to show employers
they are well-rotinded individuals
and are ready for the work force.
Virginia Taylor, a junior at
UNCA, performs with The Forti-
simamas. Through being involved
with the group, Taylor formed a
bond with the girls and realized she
could lean on them when she need
ed support.
“I’m so happy I joined an on-cam
pus activity, because I think it really
made my freshman experience one
to remember,” Taylor said.
Activities put on by student or
ganizations provide students with a
break from schoolwork and create
a fun environment for students to
hang out with their peers. Getting
involved allows students to get to
know others on their campus who
share the same interests as them
Alex Schneider, SGA sophomore
senator, said.
“Getting involved makes it easi
er to keep track of everything that
needs to get done since sudents get
a break from studying and school-
work,” Schneider said.
By being involved with a campus
community, a student can better
enjoy their college experience and
have fun.
Leila Beikmohamadi, 2016
Craftworks committee director,
said involvement is important to the
college experience.
“Student involvement is an es
sential part to this campus. Through
being involved, students are able to
learn many things that they would
not be able to through their academ
ic classes,” Beikmohamadi said.