Where oh where did the students go?Elon students not attending events, choosing speakersBy Eryn Gorang

He rummaged through his bookshelf, yanked book after book out of the stacks and proudly flipped each of them open. At first, it appeared as if the hardbacks were randomly selected because each book taken from the shelf varied in color, size, title and author. But soon it was clear. The books all had one thing in common: the author’s signature scribbled on the first page.

For Phil Smith, the associate chaplain and director of Religious Life at Elon University, each book symbolizes a different campus speaker he has had the privilege to meet.

“One of the many benefits of being on a college campus is that you get to hear and meet very impactful people,” Smith said.

So Smith put together a collection of more than a dozen autographed books as a keepsake of every author’s visit to Elon.

And though few may have such an extensive collection of autographed books, Smith’s excitement for meeting speakers is indicative of other Elon faculty and staff, which is why many faculty members choose to be involved in the process of deciding which speakers come to campus.

But while faculty may be involved in choosing speakers and attending cultural events, concerns among faculty and staff have risen in regards to the lack of student involvement in the process of deciding which scholars should come to campus.

One faculty member who is highly involved in the speaker selection process and wishes more students offered their opinion is Nancy Harris, associate dean of Elon College of Arts and Sciences.

Each year, Harris gathers a team of math and science professors together to decide which cutting-edge science researchers should be invited to campus as part of the Voices of Discovery science speaker series.

“So much is going on in the sciences today that is so significant, and we need to be telling those stories,” Harris said. “Our speaker series was created to join students, faculty, staff and the community together to inform everyone of what is going on.”

Elon University Freshman, Sam Mairson, showing off the Elon cultural calendar and her planner full of ticket stubs

But according to Harris, the key component missing from the committee is students who are willing to offer their suggestions for speakers.

“I receive emails all the time from faculty and even President Leo Lambert asking me to bring different scientists to campus,” Harris said. “But what I don’t receive is emails from students giving their input on who to invite to Elon. I would really like to see more of that.”

So on a campus with more than 5,000 students, where are the students and why aren’t they helping to decide who’s brought to campus?

Some are found in the Liberal Arts Forum, a student-led organization started on Elon’s campus in the 1960s that allows students of all disciplines to join together and pick about six to eight of the speakers who come to Elon’s campus every year.

“This program is all about the student voice,” said Alexa Johnson, a senior at Elon and a co-chair of the Liberal Arts Forum “With the Liberal Arts Forum, we can say, ‘This is who I want to speak and this is who I think other students will be interested in.’”

The forum also hosts free dinners before the speaking events they coordinate for all Elon faculty, staff and students who are interested in meeting the speaker.

“One of the great things about the forum dinners is that you get a unique one-on-one conversation with a renowned speaker that you wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to meet,” said James Malmborg, co-chair of the Liberal Arts Forum. “Plus, it is an amazing way to network with people who are the top in their field and can get you connections later in your professional life.”

According to Ann Cahill, the faculty adviser of the Liberal Arts Forum, the forum is “Elon’s best kept secret,” but she would still like to see greater student involvement.

“This is a group that has an enormous effect on our intellectual climate,” Cahill said. “So I would love to see more voices at the table. I would like to see even more smart, interesting students get involved.”

Yet, while there may be a limited number of students involved in the process of bringing speakers to campus, many students do at least attend the university’s

cultural events.During the 2010-2011 academic school year, the number of students who

attended speaker events rose by 35 percent, according to Jeffrey Clark, executive director of cultural and special programs at Elon.

Clark, who schedules anywhere from nine to 12 events every year, including both spring and fall convocation, said he believes the increase in attendance is due

Posters of Cultural Events Hosted by Elon University

to the effort on behalf of the cultural and special programs department to make well-informed decisions.

“I am always wandering around, walking through McCrary and the campus, asking people, ‘Do you know this speaker and do they interest to you?’” Clark said. “It helps me make choices that appeal to a greater number of people.”

Samantha Mairson, a freshman from Tolland, Conn., is a prime example of a student who jumps at every opportunity to attend cultural events on Elon’s campus.

Though only at Elon for just more than a month, Mairson has dedicated herself to attending at least one cultural event every day and has a planner brimming with ticket stubs and handouts to prove it.

“I go to as many events as I can because we have great programs here and almost everything is free,” Mairson said. “Plus, engagement in your learning environment is huge. Elon can preach engagement all they want, but actually putting that lesson to good use is truly important in college.”

But students like Mairson are rare on Elon’s campus. Even though more students may be attending events than ever before, Harris

still questions whether students are fully taking advantage of the opportunities offered to them.

“I always tell people, ‘You don’t have to go to everything, but if you don’t go to as much as you can, you are missing a chance of a lifetime,’” Harris said. “Students will never be in a Mecca that is so full of a such a rich array of powerful, intelligent and incredible people again. Students should be beating down the doors for opportunities like this. There should be no more empty seats.”