Ladies and gentleman, I have a heart-breaking announcement to make.
Our dear friend and loved one, campus culture, has fallen terribly ill. For those of you who did not really get a chance to meet CC (as I have of this moment affectionately named it), it was a fun-loving, generous creature that brought joy and merriment to all who encountered it, always up for something different and exciting, the type of thing that always made new memories - however hazy they may be. For those who already knew CC, you can only be as distraught as I am at its decline. There may be some who are shocked at an apparently rapid plummet in health, however I can only say it has been coming for some time. The exact cause is unknown - whether it be the move to Voluntary Student Unions, or just general lack of interest - and the doctors are stumped.
Some of the earlier symptoms included:
- Low involvement in on-campus activities, such as O'Week
- Decreasing patron numbers at UniBar
- Decreasing interest in off-campus activities, such as O'Camp
- Increasing numbers of "study-only" students
In my opinion, too much time has been spent pointing the finger at potential causes of what could have caused these issues, and not enough in actually resolving them.
I guess the first thing to do is ask, why? Why is campus culture so important?
It's quite simple. What makes the University of Adelaide different from Flinders University and UniSA?
Enough said.
But for those of you who didn't quite understand that, let me explain. The UofA is the only university in South Australia that people go to for a 'student experience'. UniSA has a bazillion campuses (well, six), and yet none of them have anything close to what UofA offers at its North Terrace base. Flinders, admittedly, tries quite hard, but it's falling prey more and more to the "study-only" students (yes, that phenomenon I mentioned before); that is, students who walk onto campus, attend their classes, borrow a book or two from the library if needed, and promptly leave. And they'll spend the entirety of their 3 - 5 year degree repeating this.
UofA, on the other hand, has the whole package. It's a 5-minute walk from every form of public transport (because no-one likes being forced to drive to and park in a car-park so far away it's labelled 'Siberia'). It has multiple cafés on-campus, as well as being adjacent to not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR food courts. It is also the only word with a true-to-its-name UniBar, one so appealing in fact, that Flinders students would rather take a 30 minute bus ride to drink there, than visit their own, questionable establishment. Add to this around 20 different sporting clubs, an almost ridiculous number of clubs supporting other interests and hobbies (ranging from political parties to The Society for Creative Anachronism) and you have a university that offers not just an education, but an experience, if not a lifestyle. It's probably one of the reasons so many students are content to stay studying at Adelaide for a decade or so. But even for those who want to do their degree as quickly as possible and get out, it's an opportunity to try something you always wanted to, excel at something other than studies, or just meet some people that you normally wouldn't.
The second (and more important) question that needs to be asked is how? How can we treat the decline in interest?
Unfortunately this is something I can only hypothesise about. There is no quick-fix solution, and there is nothing that can be done by one person. To be honest, the UofA needs to take a hard look at itself, and ask what does it want from its students? Is the money of international students enough, or does it want to retain the title of the only university in SA offering more than study? I would hope so. It needs to offer more support to activities that promote this culture. O'Camp for one. This year, O'Camp was canceled, due to lack of interest. Personally, I disagree with this. I say it wasn't allowed to happen, because so many limitations are placed on its advertising that there is no possible way it can generate any interest. Excuses such as, "we can't promote an event where alcohol is served to schools" is, to be blunt, absolute bollocks. Yes, you don't want to be describing O'Camp as a drunken orgy (no matter how close to the truth it may or may not be), but it has to be recognised that this is a responsible event, where alcohol is handled as it would be in any bar, club or bottle-shop. No ID, no service.
That being said, there is only so much the UofA high-up can do. And that's when the students need to take a good long look in the mirror. You may not think there are enough events on campus - well, I have a shocking revelation for you: events cost time and money. And money doesn't grow on trees. There is a reason that becoming a member of the AUU has a price (a terribly high one of $25, ohmygawsh - not) and that is so they can try and provide events, services, etc. to the students. If every student at UofA became a member, hell, if half of the students became members, you'd be looking at $200k minimum that could be spent on events, discounts, services, perks, you name it.
Even if (for some reason) you're horribly against unions of any kind, spending money at university facilities, funnily enough, benefits the university. That is, if you go up to the UniBar and buy a $10 jug, some of that $10 is going back towards other things that help you, as opposed to going to the Austral/Exeter/Elephant/Botanic, where no matter how much money you spend, you're probably not going to get anything beyond dehydration and a substantial gap in your memory of the evening's events - not that that doesn't happen at UniBar. But you get my point.
That being said, I wouldn't force you to eat at Mayo, because let's face it, that food is more often than not, terrible. But instead of grabbing your FUIC from the K-Foods, maybe poke your head in Mayo, or Briefs, or the Backstage Café.
Campus Culture is dying. We, the students, need to step up and revive it, and push for the UofA to do the same.
Our dear friend and loved one, campus culture, has fallen terribly ill. For those of you who did not really get a chance to meet CC (as I have of this moment affectionately named it), it was a fun-loving, generous creature that brought joy and merriment to all who encountered it, always up for something different and exciting, the type of thing that always made new memories - however hazy they may be. For those who already knew CC, you can only be as distraught as I am at its decline. There may be some who are shocked at an apparently rapid plummet in health, however I can only say it has been coming for some time. The exact cause is unknown - whether it be the move to Voluntary Student Unions, or just general lack of interest - and the doctors are stumped.
Some of the earlier symptoms included:
- Low involvement in on-campus activities, such as O'Week
- Decreasing patron numbers at UniBar
- Decreasing interest in off-campus activities, such as O'Camp
- Increasing numbers of "study-only" students
In my opinion, too much time has been spent pointing the finger at potential causes of what could have caused these issues, and not enough in actually resolving them.
I guess the first thing to do is ask, why? Why is campus culture so important?
It's quite simple. What makes the University of Adelaide different from Flinders University and UniSA?
Enough said.
But for those of you who didn't quite understand that, let me explain. The UofA is the only university in South Australia that people go to for a 'student experience'. UniSA has a bazillion campuses (well, six), and yet none of them have anything close to what UofA offers at its North Terrace base. Flinders, admittedly, tries quite hard, but it's falling prey more and more to the "study-only" students (yes, that phenomenon I mentioned before); that is, students who walk onto campus, attend their classes, borrow a book or two from the library if needed, and promptly leave. And they'll spend the entirety of their 3 - 5 year degree repeating this.
UofA, on the other hand, has the whole package. It's a 5-minute walk from every form of public transport (because no-one likes being forced to drive to and park in a car-park so far away it's labelled 'Siberia'). It has multiple cafés on-campus, as well as being adjacent to not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR food courts. It is also the only word with a true-to-its-name UniBar, one so appealing in fact, that Flinders students would rather take a 30 minute bus ride to drink there, than visit their own, questionable establishment. Add to this around 20 different sporting clubs, an almost ridiculous number of clubs supporting other interests and hobbies (ranging from political parties to The Society for Creative Anachronism) and you have a university that offers not just an education, but an experience, if not a lifestyle. It's probably one of the reasons so many students are content to stay studying at Adelaide for a decade or so. But even for those who want to do their degree as quickly as possible and get out, it's an opportunity to try something you always wanted to, excel at something other than studies, or just meet some people that you normally wouldn't.
The second (and more important) question that needs to be asked is how? How can we treat the decline in interest?
Unfortunately this is something I can only hypothesise about. There is no quick-fix solution, and there is nothing that can be done by one person. To be honest, the UofA needs to take a hard look at itself, and ask what does it want from its students? Is the money of international students enough, or does it want to retain the title of the only university in SA offering more than study? I would hope so. It needs to offer more support to activities that promote this culture. O'Camp for one. This year, O'Camp was canceled, due to lack of interest. Personally, I disagree with this. I say it wasn't allowed to happen, because so many limitations are placed on its advertising that there is no possible way it can generate any interest. Excuses such as, "we can't promote an event where alcohol is served to schools" is, to be blunt, absolute bollocks. Yes, you don't want to be describing O'Camp as a drunken orgy (no matter how close to the truth it may or may not be), but it has to be recognised that this is a responsible event, where alcohol is handled as it would be in any bar, club or bottle-shop. No ID, no service.
That being said, there is only so much the UofA high-up can do. And that's when the students need to take a good long look in the mirror. You may not think there are enough events on campus - well, I have a shocking revelation for you: events cost time and money. And money doesn't grow on trees. There is a reason that becoming a member of the AUU has a price (a terribly high one of $25, ohmygawsh - not) and that is so they can try and provide events, services, etc. to the students. If every student at UofA became a member, hell, if half of the students became members, you'd be looking at $200k minimum that could be spent on events, discounts, services, perks, you name it.
Even if (for some reason) you're horribly against unions of any kind, spending money at university facilities, funnily enough, benefits the university. That is, if you go up to the UniBar and buy a $10 jug, some of that $10 is going back towards other things that help you, as opposed to going to the Austral/Exeter/Elephant/Botanic, where no matter how much money you spend, you're probably not going to get anything beyond dehydration and a substantial gap in your memory of the evening's events - not that that doesn't happen at UniBar. But you get my point.
That being said, I wouldn't force you to eat at Mayo, because let's face it, that food is more often than not, terrible. But instead of grabbing your FUIC from the K-Foods, maybe poke your head in Mayo, or Briefs, or the Backstage Café.
Campus Culture is dying. We, the students, need to step up and revive it, and push for the UofA to do the same.
