I applied – and was accepted – to be a tour guide during the fall of my freshman year. For the following three years, the Connecticut College campus became my interactive map of visual cues for facts, statistics and small anecdotes about the school. At the Olin Observatory, I would talk about “my friend” who was completing an awesome interdisciplinary project for the Ammerman Center for Arts and Technology. In Fanning Hall, I would laugh about funny interactions and awkward moments that I never had with President Higdon. And at Cro, I would talk about the wealth of clubs and organizations that students can get involved in here at Conn.
I would always end this spiel with a line that I picked up from my own tour guide when I was visiting our campus as a prospective student: “If there’s no clubs or organizations that you’re interested in, that’s fine, you can always start your own!” At this, parents’ eyes would glaze over and a hopeful smile would creep across their lips as they imagined their own child as a captain, a president, an editor or a founder.
Student action and organization is at the core of any college community, and Conn is no exception. We pride ourselves on the number of clubs here – there are currently 126 registered on ConnQuest – and encourage the foundation of new clubs to address ever-changing global, national and local issues. With a small following and a little bit of paperwork, any group can become an organization, and any student can become a leader.
Leadership gives students the opportunity to not only promote change, but to make and execute the decisions that trigger it. They become liaisons to faculty, administration and trustees, and also help connect the student body as they work with all years within their organization. These individuals are vital for sustaining an active and engaged campus community, and all in all, they’re good people doing good things.
Before I tell you why I think that this is problematic, I think it’s important to explain that, up until the summer of 2012, I never considered myself much of a “community guy.” I had always liked the sense of selfish independence that permeated New York City – I found the competitive atmosphere energizing. But, when I began selling ice pops (fresh, local fruit ice pops, that is) for a small company at a trendy Brooklyn food fair, that all changed. I found myself thrown into a strange microcosm where vendors would cook free meals for each other after a long day’s work; where I could expect a delicious iced coffee at the start of a long, hot afternoon and a fresh, warm donut on chilly mornings. The vendors to the left and right of my pop stand weren’t just my competition, but my neighbors, too, and the success of each day was equally dependent on their comfort and happiness as it was the quarters in my tip jar.
This worked because, as much as I’d like to be, I wasn’t an owner of the company for which I worked, and neither were most of the other individuals working at the fair. We each worked with an attitude of ownership – over our shifts, selling our products – but without an ownership stake, allowing us to look after one another and strengthen the community without having to stop and evaluate the profitability of each action (much to the chagrin of our bosses, I’m sure).
At Conn there is enormous pressure to achieve a leadership position. The pressure comes, in part, from our parents and our career counselors who tell us that a few nice titles can really beef up our resumes, and from an “everyone else is doing it” mentality as well. Furthermore, with so many clubs comprised of so few students, common causes are divided. Broad initiatives and causes are categorized and itemized, which is great for getting things done, but perhaps students get so caught up in the specific purpose of their club that community goals fall to the wayside (take the failed mug share program, for example). This could explain the disappointing attendance at many events on campus, too.
As more clubs are introduced, organizations also become more financially competitive, each vying for funding from the same SGA pool. Fewer clubs with greater funds may be able to put on more impressive events and serve a greater function. Even stronger communication between organizations and co-sponsorship of events could help more organizations and students further advance the college.
Perhaps being co-Editor in Chief of The College Voice devalues my opinion (in which case spelling “chief” wrong in my and Melanie’s first issue only further discredits me) but I rely on leaders without leadership titles to make this newspaper possible each week. The section editors and writers who take ownership of their work, whether holding a title or not, produce the most groundbreaking results, whether article, photo or illustration. These individuals also seek involvement and pursue interests outside of the Voice, creating a stronger community at Conn and performing a greater service through the newspaper. It’s my hope that, with a staff like this, The College Voice can expand to include the work of students with a diverse range of interests and activities and in doing so, help to better support and inform our community.
