O’Connor embarks on retention drive

By Hannah Rhodes

Chris O’Connor, the student government president of Emory & Henry College, has many plans to improve the retention rate for students on campus.
A big problem at Emory & Henry is that campus activity is at a low, which is decreasing the retention rate of students. O’Connor said he wanted the legacy of his cabinet to be “make some improvement on the student experience and make people want to stay weekends, and not transfer.” He wants to do this by encouraging more organizational action and use of funds.
Each year, the student government gets $35,000 to dole out to the 35 student organizations. Last year, seven groups spent all of their funds. Eight spent nothing at all. The rest just spent a portion of their funds. This is a problem because they are not holding enough events to keep students interested.
The student government has an accountability plan to encourage spending of funds. They have a new bill in the works that involves each organization presenting a written report at the end of each month detailing their use of the funds.
O’Connor also wants the organizations to work together to create more ideas and support for activities. There are two organizations on campus that work as inter-club councils. They are the Peace Alliance and the Progressive Student Alliance. While these two exist, they are not as visible on campus as they have been in the past. They are meant to serve as leaders in improvement and cooperation.
Another possible program was pilot tested last semester: the mentoring program. Incoming freshmen were paired up with upperclassmen, who took them out to eat. After discovering their interests and favorite activities, the upperclassmen could help the freshmen find the right organizations to get involved in. “
If you don’t know someone, it’s hard to find someone in their niche,” said O’Connor about the struggles of freshmen.
The student government has many plans, but O’Connor made it clear that he is an advocate for more student involvement in these decisions. The student government meets at 7:15 p.m. on Wednesdays in the Calliopean Room in Byars Hall. All students are welcome to share ideas or bring up issues.

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