The lack of a University-wide community became an important topic in the Feb. 11 president’s roundtable. The issue was brought on by a discussion about the physical distance between rapidly growing Centennial Campus and Central Campus.
According to Kelli Rogers, student senate president, the divide in the University community is not only occurring between Centennial Campus and Central Campus but also between all of the colleges.
“We have a college-first mentality,” she said. “Even our senate seats are divided by college.”
Jim Ceresnak, student body president, said, “It has a lot to do with how our University has grown.”
The University was intentionally built as a collection of individual colleges because it “was built to meet the needs of the State,” he said.
“People aren’t feeling connected to the University and the University isn’t doing a lot to change that,” Ceresnak said. Right now, “we are kind of like a degree factory. We graduate a lot of people with skill sets that are useful to the State.”
Students agree NCSU has a college-centric attitude.
“There’s not a lot of communication between the majors,” Jacob Majikes, a senior in material science, said.
According to Ceresnak, the divide between Central and Centennial Campuses in particular is representative of the division between colleges.
“People on Centennial are all engineers and kind of work amongst themselves,” Pierrea Currence, a junior in communication, said. Currence said Centennial is its “own little town.”
Yan Li, a junior in accounting, said colleges close to the library have an advantage: they are more involved with things happening on Central Campus.
Brandon Berry, a junior in chemical engineering, said he felt student life was lacking on Centennial Campus. “People on Centennial don’t have the same amenities like dining and housing that main Campus has,” he said. “It makes you feel unappreciated.”
Mostafa Saber, a graduate student in material science, said he didn’t feel physical distance contributed to the divide in community between Centennial and Central Campus.
“I think it is my problem because I am a Ph.D student and don’t have time [to go to Central Campus],” Saber said.
The lack of University-wide community shows up in University statistics, Ceresnak said.
“Our Alumni Association membership hasn’t been increasing,” he said. “Over the past five years it has remained stagnant and we’ve graduated more than 30,000 people.”
The University’s endowment is small when compared to UNC Chapel Hill and Duke University, he said. According to Ceresnak, people aren’t giving back to the University because they don’t feel a connection to the University.
Ceresnak said now is the time to tackle this problem.
“This conversation is so important to have as we’re welcoming a new chancellor,” he said. “Our new chancellor needs to look at breaking down the barriers between departments and colleges.”
“We want every student to identify with the University first and their college second,” Rogers said. “The more unified we are as a university, the more well-rounded people we are.”
Both Ceresnak and Rogers mentioned improving students’ orientation experiences as a step toward creating a sense of University-wide community.
Ceresnak said expanding community service opportunities and interdisciplinary study opportunities could be part of the solution. He also said they want to make sure “student life on Centennial is being fostered.”
