Braveview:
Activity period useful

By Margaret Damghani
Senior Staff writer

The student activity period—the time set aside between 10 and 11 a.m. on Wednesdays, will be getting a second look.

The school is going to release a survey for faculty, staff and students to respond to about whether or not they feel the activity period is still needed, according to Diane O. Jones, vice chancellor for Student Affairs.

“Some feel that the activity period does not reflect the academic nature of the school,” said Jackie Clark, vice chancellor for Enrollment Management.

Clark says that she feels many organizations use this time effectively for academic activities, and that it is a useful time for commuters and adult learners who may not be able to stay on campus for extra-curricular activities because of other obligations.

Non-traditional students comprise about 40 percent of the student body at UNCP, according to the Center for Adult Learner’s website. This is no small number.

A quick glance at the University’s master calendar shows at least nine events taking place during at 10 a.m. on Wednesdays in the month of April, including programs by Student Health Services, A Taste of iWorld, the All-Greek Council and different ceremonies and brunches.

And there are several more important meetings that take place regularly at this time. The Pine Needle, the TV station, and the Music Department all use this time for student activities.

Mass Communication majors get valuable work for their resumes and certainly learn from being a part of the newspaper or broadcasting station.

A university also teaches in many more ways than just its courses. To say that having an event like A Taste of iWorld, positioned at a time when students can attend, is not academic or educational is incorrect.

Career Center Workshops are certainly useful to students who are, in the end, attending a university so that they can have a successful career later on. It doesn’t matter if other universities have given up their activity period. UNCP’s is useful and advances the educational aims of this institution.