We now have numbers to concretely describe Ohio Wesleyanâs often ephemeral over-involvement problem.
Sixty-six percent of OWUâs students are involved in at least five clubs or organizations, a Student Involvement Office survey found. This means itâs most likely that an OWU student â at least one of the 490 who responded â has more extracurricular than academic commitments.
Theyâre also tired. Seventy-seven percent said their involvement âdetracts from academic workâ by adding mental or emotional fatigue; 66 percent said it made them more physically fatigued; and 77 percent said it âoverextended (their) responsibilities.
This doesnât surprise me. Itâs only the second week of the academic year, so few of us are yet traversing campus with glazed faces, exhausted bodies and overworked minds. But in a few weeks, the truth these numbers tell will start to manifest itself.
On one hand, itâs easy to view these numbers with frightened awe and pessimism. But they come at an advantageous time.
Now that we have a better sense of how many all-nighters students pull in a given week, we can work proactively to create a healthier, happier campus.
To do that, I first want to ask some questions the survey didnât. Do the students in that 66 percent feel their involvement in five or more clubs is healthy? What does it give them? What does it take away?
Instead of asking what limited studentsâ participation in extracurricular activities, as the survey did, why not ask what obstacles it creates in other parts of our lives. The most common response was academic workload (86 percent). Is it really that school inhibits involvement, or is it the reverse?
Answering these important questions would, I think, help inform how OWUâs administrators and we students will work to assuage this problem. But I think there are things to do before those answers come.
One would be to use next Saturdayâs GO!OWU workshop as an opportunity for highly involved students to talk meaningfully with university decision-makers and each other about over-involvement.
Whether in a formal breakout session or informal breakfast chats, this would at least publicly acknowledge that there is a cultural expectation that OWU students do everything all the time. Hopefully, it would lead to some idea-sharing about how to care for ourselves and each other in our extracurricular lives.
Second, as students, we can evaluate our lists of commitments and ask ourselves whether each one helps or hurts us.
I am one of the 66 percent, and itâs a goal of mine to only make commitments I know I can keep, and to say no without fear or shame. Regret that I canât help someone or that Iâll miss out on a great opportunity, sure; but no fear or shame. Not for any of us.
Ultimately, though, this isnât solely our responsibiity. I maintain what I wrote in March about over-involvement â that I want Student Affairs administrators to acknowledge the problem and that taking care of oneself is as important as the sum of oneâs extracurricular activities, which they have yet to do.
As upperclassmen looked at their schedules and saw trouble ahead, the Student Involvement Office put on a club fair, offering first-year students sign-up lists with no word of caution about taking on too much too fast. For every club fair, I want see a workshop or flyer about self-care rather than nothing.
Perhaps response bias plays a role â itâs possible that only the most overextended students took the survey. But experience tells me these are broader trends, and I want to see administrators take that into account.
I got more positive feedback and thanks from my fellow students on my March column than anything else Iâve written. It seemed to resonate with my peersâ experience. I heard nothing â not even a refutation â from any administrator.
Meanwhile, Dean of Students Kimberlie Goldsberry presented the 66 percent statistic as something exciting in my RA training last month. I want to see these key administrators take this problem head on, not ignore it or talk about it as if it is not a problem.
On a positive note, 86 percent of the engagement surveyâs respondents said they think involvement has post-grad benefits. I want to see a concerted campus-wide effort to ensure those benefits donât cost us our mental and emotional health.