Being an active member of the Marquette University community is important to creating a safer and more equitable environment for everyone. It’s important that students and the university take steps to stay engaged in what is happening near and far from campus.
Recently, Marquette University Student Government and the President’s Task Force on Community Safety hosted a Campus Safety Student Forum to share its seven action steps to address the recent increase in crime on campus and get student insight.
Although many students expressed concern for their safety on campus, there was low student attendance at the forum.
Showing up to events like this forum, where the university is calling on students to share their concerns, is important because a larger student presence showcases that students are actually concerned. Additionally, students should take every opportunity to use their voices.
Students who weren’t able to attend the forum should consider submitting questions and comments to the Task Force.
Being active in campus events is also important in political elections.
In the MUSG spring elections, there was only a 30% student voter turnout, with 2,189 of 7,269 eligible voters casting votes.
While this year’s voter turnout was significantly higher than last year’s 24.3% rate, it is still low overall. Voting is a quintessential way for students, and people in general, to use their voices to bring attention to issues they care about. To have students who can represent the interest of the larger student body, more students should vote in the upcoming MUSG elections. This is especially important since MUSG is the only student-led organization on campus that directly works to bridge the gap between students and the administration.
The responsibility to be engaged is on students, but the university should also work to make sure students have the necessary information to access these events.
To be good global citizens students should consider attending more events about international issues.
The College of Arts & Sciences and the International Affairs Program hosted a two-day panel on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine March 22 and 23.
Both nights were highly attended, which is a great way to increase awareness. Going to events that are informative about the global community is essential if students want to be the difference.
There are a host of events that occur across campus every week that many may not know about and may not attend.
For example, two events that didn’t receive much promotion were the TEDxMarquetteU hosted a “Flourish Conference” March 28 and the Metcalfe Chair lecture featuring Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of American studies Davarian Baldwin March 31.
One issue that may prevent easy access to information about events is the current organization of campus events. Some events are shared through university news, the Events and Programming Calendar and the Calendar Events. Other events are only promoted through different colleges and departments.
Having too many places to try finding events can create confusion and prevent students from readily accessing event information. Not only does this jeopardize students’ ability to learn and broaden their knowledge of different topics, but it also hinders their ability to become more informed and engaged citizens.
In addition to increasing communication about campus events, the university should help promote more events hosted by student organizations. This will support student organizations as well as facilitate more opportunities for students to interact across groups.
Students can submit a form to the university to get events shared on the university calendar and/or university news.
Another way Marquette can help student organizations increase their event promotion is by revising its poster policy for student organizations. Currently, the Office of Engagement and Inclusion must approve all student organization publicity.
Some of the university policies for advertising and publicity put restrictions on the content, sizes and locations for where student organizations can put up posters.
As a private institution, Marquette can restrict student organizations’ ability to advertise events. But in keeping with its Jesuit values, the university should work to make avenues for student communication more accessible, so students can become more involved and connect with others.
Being an engaged citizen requires staying informed and being present at campus and community events. In order to do this, Marquette needs to help connect students with the information to access these events. Taking these steps now will not only help students be the difference during their time at Marquette but also when they leave.
Editorial topics by the Marquette Wire are decided at weekly meetings between members of the executive board. The editorial is crafted with leadership by the executive opinions editor. The executive board consists of the executive director of the Wire, managing editor of the Marquette Tribune, managing editor of the Marquette Journal, general manager of MUTV, general manager of MUR and ten additional top editors across the organization.
