Presidential Social Task Force listens to student opinions
Students and faculty gathered together on November 10 in the McBride Gathering Space to continue the discussion on the Presidential Social Task Force.
Naeemah Clark led the discussion by creating an open forum with students to see what needs the most change. The task force is still in the beginnings of the research stage by figuring out what is needed before implementing change.
The task force is designed to look at all aspects of life outside the classroom on Elon’s campus. According to Clark, it’s important to gain input from the students as that is who the change will be effecting. She opened the discussion by asking students what they felt the social climate is at Elon.
One student representative started the student discussion saying, “People associate with their organizations before they associate with being an Elon student.”
One way of fixing this is to start by having organizations co-host events.
The second issue brought up was why students join certain organizations. This was followed up with topics such as over-involvement, meaning, and value. One comment made by a student representative stated that there is a certain pressure to stay in an organization that doesn’t take precedence anymore.
When it came to discussion of Elon at night, there were mixed views. One thing that most seemed to agree on is that there needs to be more events on campus that go till later in the night. This would give an alternative to those students who don’t wish to go to a party.
This brought transportation around Elon into discussion. All agreed that the bus and other transportation at Elon is not reliable. This makes it difficult for students without cars to travel to other parts of campus at night safely.
The next major topic to be covered was spaces at Elon. One suggestion by a student was to create a Student Union. A place where it is okay to be messy. Other conversations revolved around the idea that most places on campus seem to be solely based for academic and not social climates.
The final major question Clark posed for students was the role of a mentor, whether it be peer or faculty and how to increase those relationships.
The discussion of how to change Elon’s social climate didn’t end that night. The next discussion takes place November 11 at 5:30 p.m. in McKinnon.
