Whether attributing the lack of political activism to students’ apathy, the need for the administration to pay attention or the student government, leaders of the DU community agree that political and student involvement on campus is lacking.
Economics Adjunct Professor Robert Melvin said, “Political activism is a joke. It’s a bunch of lazy, self-indulgent people that don’t take any risks. It’s obvious that we’re spending a lot of money putting up buildings. It’s not obvious that we’re putting a lot of effort into shaping the education of our students.”
The AUSA Senate President Jake Bakker said that political affiliation or background contribute to the political climate at DU, despite the fact that there isn’t political activity. He identified the DU student body as “disinterested.”
“DU has its own community and that kind of creates a bubble. College students in general are on the verge of entering the real world, but in the meantime, a lot of students think it doesn’t affect them directly,” Bakker said.
Senate Vice President Will Ford said that more participation in Senate will improve student involvement. He said that the Senate is responsible for letting students know that the Senate represents their concerns on campus.
“I think it’s the students’ responsibility, but it can’t be their responsibility if they don’t know there’s a Senate,” he said.
Director of Recreation and Ritchie Center Scheduling Stuart Halsall said that although the communication between students and the administration and among students needs to be improved, there are many university-provided opportunities the students could take advantage of.
“I just don’t see the students as interested in the opportunities presented to them,” he said.
One of the student efforts that impressed him was the basketball double header, Pack the House, which was sponsored by the Ritchie Center and the AUSA Senate and attended by over 4,500 people.
However, DCB Senator Andrew Petraitis said, “It was disappointing that we could not fill the house for a great basketball game. I think that the level of attendance on this campus is embarrassing.”
Rush attracted 390 students last fall. Director of Greek Life Carl Johnson said that the small community encourages students in the Greek system to come together.
“If they already are involved, they continue to get involved with the groups.” Asked about the rest of the student population, Johnson said, “I think the attitude is probably there, but we haven’t perpetuated it. We tell them they don’t come to things, so they don’t come to things.”
Intermural Fraternity Council President Kevin Fredrick said that students don’t get involved because they don’t know about events.
“If students were more aware of all of the possibilities and benefits of being involved on campus, then more students would be active,” he said
AUSA Senator Petraitis said, “Maybe college life is sometimes about something a little more than getting drunk every night. Don’t worry, though, last call at the Border is not until 1:30 a.m. so we all have time to be involved on campus and still not destroy our reputation of a school that does nothing but drink and ski.”
Adjunct Professor Melvin said, “Look at the average students at DU and measure the amount of time they spend worrying about their image looking right. It would be a lot more time than they spend figuring out why they’re here in the first place.”
Panhellenic Council President Megan Fullerton was not available for comment.
This is the third part in a series on political invovlement on the DU campus.
