Enrollment at West Texas A&M University is at an all time high this semester, reaching nearly 9,000 students. This number is evident in the parking problem that students still voice concern about. Usually around mid semester, the parking problem has decreased as students stray from their normal routine and miss a few classes. This semester, the parking problem still exists.
This is not because of lack of parking lots or parking spaces. It’s because the WT community has strengthened. There are more students holding each other accountable to class attendance and homework assignments. There are more students entering into campus organizations. There are more students attending campus events. This notion of community was clear during Homecoming week. With events each day of the week, students had numerous opportunities to mingle with other students, and they did. Student organizations took pride in homecoming floats, and dorm room halls joined in the theme of superheroes and decorated the outside of their buildings.
The strengthened community on the WT campus is so important for all students, but especially for new freshmen. When students are more active and involved, they are more likely to return to college in the spring semester because they feel that they belong and they have a place in the WT family. Students who transfer or do not return to college at all in their second semester often do so because they feel like an outsider, lonely or like they don’t fit in or belong. The tighter community bond this year can be really effective on freshmen students, and perhaps it will be reflected in the retention rates this year.
Freshmen students who are involved and return the second semester often return in the years following their freshman year. These students frequently become leaders of student organizations, sororities and fraternities. They return already having a sense of community, and they are a huge part of making new freshmen students feel welcome.
This year, sororities had a main focus on this aspect of community during rush week. Sororities on campus participated in a social media blackout, in which they were required to temporarily deactivate all social media accounts and refrain from using them. They did this in order to focus more on the most important aspects of being in a sorority, such as the sense of community and family within each sorority, and to avoid being distracted by the many things that consume our time on social media.
Community is built on the foundations of fellowship. When students join organizations, they enter into fellowship with many students they otherwise wouldn’t. They meet students that they share classes with, as well as students from other departments. They establish meaningful relationships with fellow Buffs, find their lifelong best friends and find their future bridesmaids and groomsmen. Getting involved aids in finding a place in a university of almost 9,000 students, and it makes the transition into college much easier for incoming freshmen and transfer students who arrive at WT not yet knowing anyone.
By joining student organizations, students will not only get to partake in fellowship with students within those organizations, but also with students in other organizations across campus. Organizations at WT are collaborating with each other more and more and strengthening the inter-organizational bonds within the university. Organizations that at one time did not associate with each other are now friends and working with each other. Students in different fraternities and sororities are acquainted and spend time together outside of classes and group projects. Students that were on the Homecoming court had the support of other students from organizations and departments all across campus.
The strengthening community bond here at WT is very evident, and it reflects the integrity and character of the students enrolled this year. WT students, especially new freshmen and transfer students, should become more involved and join student organizations to find their place and become a bigger part of the WT family.