RE: new thread: student activities link to WC?

["Prof. Jean Timpel" <JTIMPEL@bach.cuw.edu>]

Lynne,
    I started a creative writer's group here at Concordia-WI about 
three years ago.  As long as it was me pushing and pulling, doing the 
PR and so on, the group stayed insignificant.  Once I found a few 
students who really wanted a poetry forum on campus, we took off.  
Instead of me doing PR, I now ask for volunteers to do a blurb for 
the student newspaper or make posters.  It mostly spread by word of 
mouth.  Now we hold maybe three open mike poetry readings in the 
student union per year.  we might get 25 to 35 people, but that is 25 
who did not have this opportunity before.  We took over 
publication of the literary journal from the English department, and 
produce it twice a year instead of once.  Student government is 
giving us more money because we are visible.  The group meets weekly 
in a dreary hole they like better than the Learning Center I started 
with because it is their own space.  Meetings are very casual; they 
read their work in progress and talk about it.
    I tend to be more structured than they want to be.  They don't 
like to "do business."  So I try to fade out and let them create the 
character of the group.  I just push occasionally to set and meet 
deadlines so we get something public done now and then.  The real key 
is to find a couple of enthusiastic students who are willing to work 
to create the activity they want.  get them fired up and let them go. 
Our core group is small, but they feel as though they own the group, 
and I think that is what makes it work.

Jean

> 
> The problems you are experiencing getting students involved 
> in any kind of activity aren't limited to computer campuses.  
> Southern Arkansas University is a small 4-year school (with 
> some master's programs) of about 2500 students, 900 of whom 
> live on campus.  As sponsor of a student writers' club, I 
> have a hard time getting students involved, even when they 
> say they want to be involved.  We have an annual writing 
> contest in which cash prizes are awarded and still haven't 
> developed an interested following even in the fourth year of 
> the contest.  We also have an annual literary publication 
> that comes out of the contest.  Every year I have to go to 
> the same effort to get students involved.  And most of my 
> faculty colleagues probably don't even know the contest or 
> the publication exists.  I would love to hear some success 
> stories.
> 
> Lynne
> lrbelcher@saumag.edu
> 
> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Jean Timpel
Concordia University-Wisconsin
12800 N. Lake Shore Drive
Mequon. WI 53097
414-243-4216
jtimpel@bach.cuw.edu
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *