Student Organizations
In order to first understand the data regarding the different organizations students join at Arkansas State University, we should understand the enrollment rates of the following years: 1967, 1977, 1987, 1997, 2007, and 2017. These years were chosen as 2017 is the most recent year with data available, and to fully understand the growth from each decade. These are also the years that data has been recorded from for each of the following organizations.
The first group of organizations being analyzed consists of the Registered Student Organizations (RSOs). These span over 300 different groups/clubs (as of December 2018) which could relate to different majors and fields of study (such as the Honors College Association, Pre-Optometry Club, or Phi Alpha Theta, an honor society for history majors), mutually enjoyed pastimes (the Anime Club), religions, charity works, etc. These clubs have routine at certain intervals, but some put on events for the whole student body. It is important for to understand that a little over 2/5 of the students in an RSO are involved in another RSO, sports, Greek life, band, and/or a leadership role as of 2017. As the job market has become increasingly competitive and the amount of young people emerging with college degrees is growing, many feel it is necessary to maintain high grades, get experience in their desired field, and join related clubs to obtain a position. There has also been an emergence of clubs focused on mental health and relaxing activities to handle the stress that students endure. In earlier years, namely 1977 and 1987, political and social justice clubs were on the rise, and have started to garner more attention as of 2017.
Secondly, sports play a large part in student life and involvement as well as a source of income for the university through tickets, box seats, parking spaces, memorabilia, sports wear, etc. Between 1997 and 2017, several "club sports", meaning those that have not been granted varsity status yet, were instated on our campus. These include the rugby, softball, and quidditch teams, to name a few. These new sports, along with the sudden uptick in enrollment between 2007 and 2017, have meant more students are getting involved with the sports side of organizations at the university. Some of the students on these sports teams hope to play professionally or have a career related to sports and believe that experience on a team will aid them in that search. Others look for careers that are unrelated to sports, but are on the teams as there are a multitude of scholarships available for each team.
Third on our list of organizations that students partake in to aide in their college experience would be Greek Life. This graph includes numbers of all the Greek organizations found on our campus, off all genders and races. It has been proven in studies before that those who participate in Greek organizations often rise to higher levels in a variety of fields. It is believed that this is because Greek organizations instill discipline, hard work, and leadership in their members. This belief has remained through the 1960s to the present, and that may be part of the large percentage of increase for Arkansas State Greek Life between 2007 and 2017, along with the increased enrollment rate.
Fourth is the Arkansas State University band, A.K.A. "The Sound of The Natural State". Our impressive band has been featured on national television and students are awarded scholarships for their participation in the band. This shows that band students, much like student athletes, both enjoy the band and look to it as a form of scholarship for their education. Although, it should be mentioned that roughly 74% of the band students here are studying towards degrees that relate to music and music education.
Finally, the leadership roles. These are positions that students could be awarded on out campus such as a spot on the Student Government Association or Student Activities Board, or becoming a Chancellor's Ambassador or an A-State Rep. These are honors for the students, who will be in charge of events, changing the handbook, addressing student concerns, giving tours to new students, and aiding in high school outreach. Students who already are or have been a part of the different student organizations previously mentioned in this section may apply for these positions and go through an interview process. This is yet another example of a way for students to add to their resumes in the form of leadership roles and experience in order to portray themselves as the most well-rounded applicants for nearly any career field.
In conclusion, although the desire to join these organizations in the past were primarily focused on the enjoyment of those joining and for the betterment of the university, students now join for those reasons and the present, pressing reason to be great candidates to potential employers. This could in part be because of the harsh job market or increase of American citizens with college degrees. Either way, there is still an interest in political and social justice and opinion, and the rights of women, people of color, and the LGBT community. The only difference between the fight for rights among college students from then and now would be that more men are helping in the fight for women's rights, more white people are helping our those of color, and more allies are helping the LGBT community. Largely, it can be inferred that some of the interests of those before us are still present for us to continue working on and improve, as well as the desire to prepare ourselves for intense fight for our careers after graduation.
