Have you felt a change in the climate at Northwestern? I have felt as though there has been a shift in the climate, tradition and even community at Northwestern this year compared to last year. Less people at events, less dorm room doors are open across campus, less men integrated into clubs or leadership positions and changing of tradition or lack of events due to new dorms. I have conducted around 20 informal interviews ranging from freshmen to seniors, athletes to theatre students, men and women and I can not say I am the only one seeing this change.
My main speculation for some of these issues is athletics and sports, though not the athletes themselves. Around 70% of men and 50% of women are involved in sports on campus, which also means that about 70% of men and 50% of women, depending on the season, are busy from 3 to 7 nearly every day. This, combined with morning practices, classes and homework leads to exhaustion and a desire to relax, which could explain the lack of attendance at SAC events. SAC used to expect around 100 people to show up for a small weekend event, but now they hope for 50 to show up. Many non-athletes seem to have a perspective that there is a lack of community, compared to athletes who have a built-in community they spend time with every day. This of course also depends on whether someone is outgoing or not, or an introvert or extrovert but I think it is a bit deeper than that.
The main issue I am pointing out is not athletes vs. non-athletes or introvert vs. extrovert but rather what NW’s values are. Obviously NW values athletics, especially when we are winners and are known for Standing Out, but this also leads to sacrifice other areas like the Arts. The problem arises when athletes seem to not notice many changes or problems around community or culture around NW but non-athletes do. Yet again, the problem is not with athletes but rather the community disconnect non-athletes feel slowly happening.
NW is Christian campus, and this is a primary value which means that there is a ton of investment in faith formation programs ranging from D-groups to Campus Ministry events. This is an amazing thing which allows us to spread the Gospel, develop in our understanding of complex issues, mature in our faith and have another communal aspect.
NW is a liberal arts college, which means allowing an atmosphere of diverse opinions to come together. The liberal aspect to NW is a vital value if we desire to seek change, understanding and challenging ideas of one another. That is one reason why I sought after opinions from a diverse set of students to understand multiple aspects of my claim. NW invests in this by curating an educational format to make students wrestle with ideas that challenge their beliefs. This is a secondary community piece inviting conversation rather than disconnect.
Finally, the Arts are a value of NW but it is a question of investment. The Arts are band, orchestra, choir, theatre, the creation of artwork and many more topics. We have amazing programs for the Arts but it seems that they get overshadowed by athletics and investment. It makes sense from a financial point of view as athletics generates revenue for the college. Although if we see this through just a utilitarian aspect, we sacrifice community for people involved in the Arts. The orchestra, for example, was nearly merged with the community orchestra due to not having enough people, yet athletes make up more than half of our student body.
This is what people have told me and what I have noticed being involved throughout campus. It is interesting seeing differing opinions and I believe we must invest in areas we want more involvement in. Our athletes are a solid part of our student body and add value to our community but students who are active in clubs, the Arts or aren’t outgoing seem to be hurt by prioritization of athletics rather than in the community as a whole. My question is where does the college stand on investing in the humanities or student programs compared to athletics?
