Rowan University has over 200 student clubs and organizations. The number and the variety of clubs ensure that all students have a way to get involved and meet people, no matter their major, background, or interests. Everything from associations and clubs related to specific areas of study to more social groups like the K-Pop club is available to students who wish to participate in something on campus.
This ease of access to ways to be social and get to know people on campus is a deserved point of pride for the university. However, not all students have access to these groups, as grad students are often barred from partaking in student organizations and clubs, at least in substantial ways.
It is the opinion of The Whit that this is a detriment to all students, whether they be undergraduate or graduate students, as well as the organizations and clubs that cannot recruit or retain students who earn their degrees and choose to stay at Rowan for their master’s degree.
Graduate students miss out on the opportunity to continue to participate in clubs and organizations that they have become established in and have experience in, even though they are continuing their education at the same college. This means that graduate students also miss out on the opportunity to conveniently socialize, and in the case of creative clubs, lose out on the opportunity to expand the portfolios outside of assignments given as part of their graduate program. If grad students can make the time and are willing to put in the effort to take part in organizations around campus besides the graduate SGA, they should be allowed to do so.
Undergraduate students miss out on the opportunity to build close connections with students who were in their shoes previously. Graduate students would benefit undergrads, due to their ability to work as mentors and guide undergrads in their exploration of different interests and endeavors. If undergraduate students were able to participate in clubs with grad students, they would be able to work more closely and learn from the grads more substantively. They would also be able to get perspective on what grad life is like and whether they would also want to continue their education after graduation as well.
Organizations would benefit from having graduate students in their ranks as it would allow them to keep numbers up in the event recruiting efforts have been unsuccessful, as well as giving an added perspective to the groups, and expanding the reach and output abilities of the clubs in question. As an example, The Whit would benefit from being allowed to let graduate students write for the paper, as they would be able to cover a different perspective of the campus community and give a broader and more robust view of the happenings around Rowan.
It would be understandable to put some limitations on how graduate students can engage with the organizations, but keeping them out of participating entirely benefits no one. E- board positions and other leadership roles could be reserved for undergraduates, to ensure that they have the opportunity to get leadership experience before getting into the working world post-graduation, but grad students could still be allowed to partake in more casual roles.
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