The transition from high school to college is one of the biggest changes a student will make in his or her life. You’re more than likely moving away from home, meeting new people, working with new teachers, having to share a room with a stranger, and navigating a whole campus on your own.
It can be overwhelming at first, but that’s when campus events come in to break that ice and make that transition as seamless as possible. Universities throughout the country seek to stack campus events to make the overall experience more fun for students, especially incoming freshmen. Milligan is no different.
The Stampede conducted a small survey amongst students to gain feedback on their thoughts and feelings toward the campus events that have taken place so far.
To summarize the responses received, one might say the following phrase: “Things have been fun, but they could be better.”
The more well-known Milligan traditions include Welcome Week, TWIRP week, Rush day, and the traditional trivia nights here and there. While students come out to have fun, the event also gives them the opportunity to meet new people.
From the survey, the majority (85%) said they genuinely enjoyed the activities on campus. Within that response, around 44% of the students said they enjoyed the welcome week activities the most, specifically the cornhole tournament, cookout, and trip to Doe River Gorge. They noted that the atmosphere created by their fellow peers is what made the event most enjoyable.
When asked on a scale of 1-5 how they would rate the amount of fun they’ve had on campus so far, the results were mostly positive with over 66% of students saying they would rate it a 4 or higher.
However, even with these positive results, there is always room for improvement. When asked if there was anything they would change, an overwhelming 90% said a “more lively campus life” and “more inclusive activities for everyone,” is something they would like to see take place at Milligan. One may notice a few extra parking spaces on weekends, as Milligan often resembles a sort of ghost town. This is inevitable, with many students opting to go home on the weekends, or simply just venture off campus to have fun. Some suggested ideas to help keep more students on campus over the weekend, including: campus-wide treasure hunts, campus-wide hide and seek, and dorm vs. dorm basketball tournaments. A student lounge with air hockey and modern gaming systems was the favorite suggestion amongst the surveyed group.
However, despite these suggestions, the results from the survey have still been immensely positive. The administrators and various leadership teams involved have done a great job trying to maximize student involvement, and we’re confident they will continue to do so in the future.
If you wish to take the same survey hit the link below:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSetWx3Hb2ySD-PgmfGoAPWdIqZALu663W2uLl9-Du_zpbAXew/viewform?usp=sf_link
Photos by Chase McGlamery