OPINION: Students make the magic happen
With so many events for USU to choose from this fall, there are a plethora of opportunities for students to get involved in. Of course, many students want to take part in these events by attending as patrons and party-goers.
Successful events require both students who desire to get involved as well as those that want to be entertained.
It has truly been an amazing experience to see how many students have approached the Student Traditions and Activities Board willing to volunteer. I have received emails, texts, phone calls and Facebook messages from numerous students asking how they can get involved. For this, I am very grateful. We need the help. USU is a university known for its events. From the HOWL to Poetry and a Beverage to Week of Welcome to the End of Year Bash — it seems that we prove to program events worth attending. Each one of these events is only possible because of you.
Your student fee money is the first reason we can do things that help to enhance entertainment during your college experience. With this fee money, we do our best to provide you an opportunity to get out of the house and attend something that you might find worth while. Another reason you make our events possible is by volunteering. Without volunteers, committees and chairs, there would be absolutely no way possible for us to make any event happen. I can’t say enough how impressed I have been by the help and support the programmers at USU receive from students every year. I would encourage all to get involved and stay involved, and hopefully one day the experience will drive you to hold a position within ASUSU’s Executive Council. Help those that want to get involved to find us.
We are on the third floor of the TSC and love to have students ask us how they can help. There are plenty of organizations for students to try. If you don’t fall in love with the first event you volunteer for, keep looking. Don’t leave. We can help you find what you want to get involved with.
This past spring we attended a leadership conference at Salt Lake Community College. There were various occasions when we were approached by student leaders of other schools in the state that asked, “How do you get so many people out to your events? How do you make the HOWL so successful?” The answer is really quite simple; the students at USU are awesome. Students here want to attend events, and the students that do become the students who program and make the next year’s events even better. Some might argue it is because we are in Logan, and let’s face it, there really isn’t a lot to do here off campus. That definitely helps.
However, the HOWL generates a large amount of revenue, which is used to finish the programming for the rest of the year, which is another reason it helps to attend events, but it is interesting to see the amount generated off of non-student ticket sales. Year in and year out thousands of dollars are brought in from those patrons. It is great to see people from all over the area come to our campus. It brings in funding that helps plan events and gives us an opportunity to recruit. Realistically, many students choose a school based on where their friends are going or where they feel like they might easily find friends. Events allow us to network and meet people from all over.
I hope to see more USU students attend the HOWL this year than we have ever seen. As a volunteer, party-goer or particular band enthusiast, we love to see everyone come. Check The Statesman and other media to see the lineup for this year’s HOWL. There should be something for everyone.