In the Fall 2020 semester, the NVU-Lyndon Student Government Association voted to disband five clubs on-campus. Genealogy Club wrote an official letter addressing their struggles with lack of membership and interest, putting themselves on the chopping block. Other clubs like LyndonHEIM, Sports Management, Cultural Ambassador Society, and Veteran’s Association were voted to disband due to failing to attend SGA meetings. These disbandments took place during the meetings on October 7 and October 21.
With the start of a new semester, it is not looking much brighter for other student-run organizations. On the agenda of the first Spring 2021 SGA meeting, happening tonight, is a vote to disband NVUnity, a club recently brought to the Lyndon campus in the past few years.
Former NVUnity President Alexander Therriault attributes the upcoming disbandment to the lack of student involvement. “We have taken an enormous hit in participation and attendance for clubs. NVUnity is sadly a club that is now one of many that have to shut its doors,” he said. Therriault also says that students looking for leadership positions among clubs are scarce on the NVU-Lyndon campus and the current NVUnity executive board is “struggling to find [their own] balance.” Therriault himself is a Senior RA, holds two different club executive board positions, and is enrolled as a full-time student.
“I don’t know why the student body doesn’t want to get involved with clubs but I hope we as a community can find a solution.” -Alexander Therriault
Former SGA President Kate Henriques says that the decline of student involvement on-campus has been there, but it can partially be contributed to the decline of students as a whole. “My first year, we were still LSC, and it seemed like more people were plugged into activities and involvement. There were so many more people involved with the Twilight Players productions my first year than any other year after,” she told The Critic. Henriques also believes that the pandemic sped up the decline in student involvement, “There are less people on campus than ever before and all of this isolation and distancing has made it harder for people to get to know one another and really get involved.”
When Henriques recognized this lack of pride and involvement last year, she rallied the Student Government to turn the spring semester involvement fair into a larger celebration of campus life. “I clearly identified this decline as I was campaigning last year, and the whole premise of Lyndon Day’s creation was unification and involvement,” she told The Critic.
This year, while Lyndon Day will once again be held in the Stannard Gymnasium, the celebration is looking a little different. This Friday, from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM, only 13 of the 18 clubs on-campus will join the Student Government in putting on this event. Many of the clubs will be collecting membership sign-ups, giving away free merchandise, and/or hosting a fun activity.
One of the clubs not participating is Kingdom Crescendos A Capella. President Autumn Chamberlain told The Critic that the club has been very limited during the pandemic, finding it unsafe to meet up for rehearsals. “It’s very difficult to sing in a mask and distance yourself to hear everyone in the group, and we don’t want to gather an audience,” she said.
Chamberlain has been the President of KCA for two years, a position that she felt was just dropped on her at the end of her first semester at NVU-Lyndon. “No one else has ever expressed interest in stepping up. I don’t hold that against anyone; I completely understand why people don’t want to take on the responsibility of a club, but it doesn’t give me much of an option,” she says. Leading a club that can’t do anything and lacks enthusiasm “doesn’t give a leadership figure much incentive” and Chamberlain is looking to step down as president soon.
With all of these struggles looming, Chamberlain admitted that the Kingdom Crescendos discussed disbandment. “We know that if we disband then the club would have to be re-pitched to SGA, and reviving a club is a lengthy, arduous process that isn’t guaranteed. And none of us want to see the club go under, especially when it’s in our hands,” she told The Critic.
Current SGA President Gill Macdonald has only heard of one club that has taken disbandment into serious consideration and attributes the decline of student involvement mainly to the pandemic, though Lyndon has been lacking student involvement prior. With more students choosing to commute to campus or learn entirely from a remote environment, Macdonald thinks students are opting out of involvement now more than ever because they do not want to spend more time in a Zoom call, even if it’s for fun.
“I was surprised to see the amount of clubs that were disbanded last semester, but unfortunately, many of these disbandments were because of the lack of SGA attendance and involvement. It was sad to see [them] go, but I do hope these clubs join our SGA family again soon,” Macdonald told The Critic.
Speculation around the student body hints at tonight’s Student Government meeting holding a heavy discussion on how to improve student involvement. Club and class representatives will be meeting at 8:00 PM in the Moore Community Room and synchronously through Zoom to discuss that, among other SGA agenda items.
Feature Photo courtesy of the Student Government Association || President Gill MacDonald leads the September 23 General Board Meeting, held in-person with some Zoom attendees, and livestreamed on Facebook.