Here at Northwestern College, we like to start out the year with a friendly competition between classes. The purpose of this event is to create a place for the freshmen to meet each other and upperclassmen.
Clash of the Classes is also a great place to meet people who have similar interests to you, as you will be competing in games that you hopefully enjoy.
The problem with this event is that a vast majority of the student body doesn’t seem to care about it in the slightest. The question that many would like to know the answer to is: why does nobody seem to care about Clash of the Classes?
The first main issue with this event and its attendance is the lack of advertising for it. There is a lot that goes on at the start of each year, so many students simply won’t see much about the event unless it is heavily advertised.
This year, there were only a couple of emails sent out about the event and some posters around campus. Unless you really wanted to participate from the start and were on the lookout for information about it, chances are you were going to ignore those emails and posters so that you can attend things that are of a higher priority to you.
Another problem that is closely related to the lack of advertising is the lack of word of mouth about Clash of the Classes. There are some events that a good portion of the student body talk about year round, but Clash of the Classes is not one of those events. Word of mouth is how many Student Government Association events get high participation, but almost no one talks about Clash of the Classes, even after it ends.
Those who participate will often say that the slip and slide was the best part of the event, and that is the extent of what will be shared.
Without word of mouth from the student body, the event will see low participation from it.
The last issue is that the point of the event seems to be an afterthought when planning it. Clash of the Classes should encourage you to go out and meet new people, but more often than not, the competition part gets in the way of that.
There is very little collaboration, especially outside of classes, instead you are taling to the same people over and over so that your class can get the win. Where is the student body supposed to meet new people in that?
Clash of the Classes seems to have forgotten what the heart of the event is supposed to be. However, there are a few fixes that could bring more students to Clash of the Classes.
If the event were to be pushed back a week or two to give students time to adjust to life on campus, there might be more people who would attend the event.
There is also a lack of collaboration between the classes at the event. Collaboration creates an opportunity for the underclassmen to connect with the upperclassmen, which should be the goal of the event to begin with, so there should be more events that require or encourage collaboration with other classes so that participants have a better chance of meeting new people.
There is a reason that the slip and slide is a favored part of Clash of the Classes: there is no competition. Instead, everyone gets to come together and just have fun. Clash of the Classes could use more things like that. Maybe the whole event needs to be revisted and reexamined to see if it really communicates the Raider Way.
