Students here at St. John’s have been complaining about the lack of campus life for the past few years. Residents say that the campus dies each weekend, forcing them to go elsewhere to have some fun on days off.

Sure, it gets quiet here on weekends, and perhaps more could be done by the University to foster life here on campus.
Still, some of the responsibility falls on the students themselves. Those who want more to do around here on weekends and in between classes can and should do something about it.

Most events on campus are planned by students. There are committees within Student Government, Inc. whose sole responsibility is to set up concerts, movie nights, and dances.

In addition, events like Commuter Appreciation Week and Homecoming Weekend are coordinated by the Student Programming Board, yet another organization whose purpose is to make campus more interesting for fellow students.

However, to the disappointment of student planners and administrators alike, events have been faced with embarrassingly lower and lower attendance every year. Last fall, the University sponsored a concert by Grammy-winning hip-hop artist Common.

Of the 6,008 seats in Carnesecca Arena, only 575 were filled. Worse still, women’s basketball, while experiencing one of its most successful seasons in years, received the support of only a few hundred spectators per game after they qualified to play in the WNIT tournament.

Fortunately, with each year St. John’s finds new hope for an improved campus life in the arrival of thousands of new students. Incoming freshmen have the opportunity to make dramatic improvements to the state of campus.

A student fresh out of high school and overwhelmed at the scale of this university might wonder just how that could be possible.

The answer is simple: get involved.
There are countless clubs and activities for freshman to jump right into which can allow them to have fun and to help make St. John’s a better place for themselves and their peers.

To begin with, students can join Student Government or the Student Programming Board to take a proactive role on campus.

Not only can student members of SGI help to plan activities along with members of SPB to improve campus life, but they are also able to help maintain other organizations. Without SGI, organizations on campus would not be able to run.

Religious organizations let students share and deepen their faith with other members of their religion and also provide the opportunity to meet with believers of other faiths.

There is Campus Ministry, Muslim Students Association, and Hindu Students Association, to name a few. This is a major part of the diversity of St. John’s as a Vincentian and metropolitan university.

Another useful club to join would be one connected with a student’s major. A math major could join the math club to hang out with classmates and to get to know professors better.

There are also honor societies for the majors that, while looking good on transcripts, can allow students to join with other students in their major to hear lectures from prominent members of their field.

Each incoming class of freshmen provides a new chance for improvement at St. John’s. The University cannot exist without students, and neither can campus life.

Whether or not St. John’s is a fun campus to stay on, between classes or on weekends, rests solely in the hands of its students.