AMANDA BLAKE
GUEST COLUMNIST, FROM THE
STUDENT SENATE
Student involvement at USM has greatly improved in the last two years. Four years ago the events that took place on campus were unattended, USM sports teams had little to no support from students and involvement in student government was less than desirable. Last year we saw a jump in student involvement; partially due to the increase in the student activity fee, and events and programs started returning record numbers.
As the chair of Gorham Event Board last year I saw a remarkable number of students attending our events. Acts like comedian Bob Marley drew an unprecedented 450 people to the Brooks Student Center and our popular Stress Relief night in December brought upwards to 400 students to break up the stress of finals. Likewise, the Board of Student Organizations grew and new student groups emerged with fresh ideas on events. With the creation of the Leadership Development Board we saw an increase in leadership with the Learn to Lead conference which brought many new workshops for student leaders that they didn’t see the year before.
This year we are already seeing an increase in student involvement. The creation of the Homecoming Committee brought a large number of student groups together. The committee met all last spring and throughout the summer. This fall we are going to see the outcome of one of the most student run events this University has seen: a full week of activities. These include community service, competitions, a bonfire, a creation of a spirit song and much more. To make this a success, students need to get involved, show their school spirit and attend the events. It can be challenging, getting students involved, but I think that with events like Husky Fest, the Student Involvement Fair and Homecoming, we could see another record year.