How far should the College go to encourage us to make the most of our time here and have the best Dartmouth experience? This is the question that went through my mind when I read the recent article about the Mean Green program ("'Mean Green' program gives fans incentives for attendance," Jan. 29). In an effort to boost attendance at sporting events, the Mean Green program offers students school apparel for attending six events, and, last fall, offered PE credit to students who attended at least eight games. While this last institute may seem extravagant, the message is clear: the athletic department, with the support of the College, goes to great lengths to encourage students to attend athletic events and cheer on their peers. This makes perfect sense, because sports attendance builds a sense of community that improves the quality of life for everyone.
The Mean Green program got me wondering why other departments and groups haven't taken the hint from the athletic department and started to offer incentives for people to attend their own events. Just as we should support our peers at sporting events, shouldn't we also support them in their other endeavors as well -- whether these endeavors be musical, theatrical or artistic? In fact, the College should be actively encouraging us to attend these performances, just as it does athletic events. The ratio of students to non-students at athletic events already tends to be higher than at, say, a lecture sponsored by a particular department. On top of this, the Mean Green program has produced results, boosting student numbers at games. Other departments and organizations should offer incentives similar to those offered by the Mean Green program, to help increase attendance and aid students in maximizing their time at Dartmouth.
In his recent column, "Reimagining Athletics" (Jan. 27), Isaiah Berg argues against the special place that athletics have taken at the College, dwarfing all other extracurricular activities. He says that athletics shouldn't be placed on a pedestal over other student activities, but should be treated the same as any other student group. I argue that athletics should not be alone in "incentivizing" attendence at events. This would certainly help to balance out the attention given to other activities.
The athletic department clearly has ample resources to offer these incentives. It is able to give away 40 Boston Red Sox tickets to the top Big Green fans. Though we are in a recession right now, resources for other departments and groups haven't dried up completely. The academic departments have the ability to offer their own incentives, even if only on a small scale.
While Sheba and the Aires might consistently draw big crowds, there are many student groups and outside performers that struggle to fill seats. When I look around at any lecture that isn't required for some class, all I see is a sea of professors and Hanover residents, with very few students. While these events may never make it onto ESPNU, like a Dartmouth hockey game, they certainly are an integral part of our college experience. We will not do justice to Dartmouth and its resources if our only campus participation comes in the form of class attendance. High school is over, and with this change comes relatively free reign over our own educations. Gone are the days of required meetings and speakers and assemblies. I do support this newfound intellectual freedom, but we all occasionally suffer from a lack of motivation, and a little prodding in the right direction might be appreciated.
Just like the Dickey Center for International Understanding and the Tucker Foundation encourage education abroad by offering additional resources to students, different groups on campus can encourage us as well. I'm not saying we should have somebody shooting a T-shirt gun into the crowd in the middle of an economics lecture, but maybe a gift certificate to a bookstore in recognition of attendence would make sense.
While incentives might seem appropriate for sports games, professors and organizers might consider them "cheap." And this is certainly true. There is nothing lofty about having to give students reasons to attend your events. But there is something honorable in realizing that your highest goal is to educate the students of this college. And there's certainly something to be said for working to ensure that everyone makes the most of the offerings at Dartmouth.
