In 2007, CSU East Bay’s President Mohammed Qayoumi issued a report titled
Framework for the Future, which spelled out his grand strategic plan for the university. One aspect of this plan was to create a vibrant “University Village” for the students. Unfortunately, while time and money has been invested into structures such as the RAW, events such as concerts, and the move to Division II athletics, we students are not holding up our end up of the bargain.
When you look at the attendance figures for sporting events and concerts, CSUEB students are not giving their stamp of approval to the events that are being hosted. At the recent Neon Trees concert, which was offered at no cost, an estimated 200 people attended. While many in Associated Students Incorporated (ASI) were proud of that number, it means that only 1.3 percent of the approximate student population of 14,700 witnessed the up and coming band rock out during lunch—a dismal showing, especially when you consider it to be one example of a troubling trend.
Sporting events are another prime example of the lack of student support. This past weekend the men’s soccer team had listed attendances of 150 for their game Friday against San Francisco State and 75 for their game Sunday against CSU Monterey Bay. This lack of student support is apparent in most sports, as the only time a strong crowd gathers to watch the Pioneer athletes play is during the winter quarter’s Homecoming Week.
Quite frankly, CSUEB students are not finding it worthwhile to attend the university-sponsored events. In order to continue the advancement of CSUEB as a beacon of higher education, it is critical that we find a way to better encourage our students to attend on campus events. But what can we do to begin this transformation?
While the advertising and promotion of on-campus events has improved, it is not at its optimum efficiency. While ASI and the Athletics Department have begun to use social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to promote activities, these sites do not have access to the entire student population. The ASI Facebook page has only 2,723 friends, while the Athletics Department’s Twitter feed has only 269 followers. These numbers are not where they need to be in order to effectively advertise to the student body, and a push to have a larger number of the student population subscribe to these sites is necessary.
Furthermore, there needs to be more physical representation of advertising on our campus. While the digital bulletin board is a good starting point, it would be effective to use the television sets seen throughout the campus to keep students aware of upcoming events.
In addition, it is crucial to give more incentives for students to attend events that are hosted on campus. Homecoming is a great example of this, as the free items and food that students are able to win are a big lure in drawing the big crowds that fill the gymnasium that week.
Ultimately, though, the onus is on us students to embrace the university’s events and help create a “University Community.” While lots of time and money can be spent on advertising and promotion to prod our attendance forward, the students have to begin to be the change. We as students must feel the sense of pride and commitment to our school necessary to show up at events. We must support the university as it attempts to move forward and create a more vibrant university village.  Our university community is in our own hands.