I have never attended a Convocation or Chapel, and I don’t intend to in the semester I have left. I have rewritten this article at least ten times trying to express how I feel about Convocations. I appreciate the administration trying to do what they think is best for us. I think it’s great that we are offered this opportunity to learn about a variety of topics, and I do not want anyone to think I don’t respect them, because I know their jobs are incredibly hard. But honestly? I think it is ridiculous that incoming students are going to be required to attend Convocations for 80 credit hours.
Don’t get me wrong; I get it. Chapel/Convocation attendance was down. The administration saw our campus with its variety of backgrounds and opinions. What better way to bring us together than to force us to sit in a room with each other for a set number of times each year? Surely that would help. When I was an underclassman, the only Chapel/ Convocation requirement we had was to attend a certain number for our Speech class or listen to the speeches online — which is the option I chose. I still remember the complaining. We didn’t want to be forced to attend Chapels. It took up time when we could be doing other homework, grabbing an early lunch, or taking a much-needed nap.
Even the professors hated the requirement. The students didn’t want to be there, so they didn’t act like they wanted to be there. Texting, whispering, surfing the Internet — I remember several professors saying they were actually embarrassed when speakers came to talk at Chapels because of how the students acted. Maybe that’s different now. Maybe the group of first-years are more mature than they were three years ago.
In addition to students not wanting to attend Convocation, I have to wonder how this will affect enrollment. As a non-Mennonite, I was excited to learn before applying to EMU that Chapel/Convocation was not required. It was nice to know that the option existed but that I wouldn’t be forced to attend—something that, in my mind, would be akin to being required to attend Mass at a Catholic school. I can only imagine how a non-Christian student would feel to discover the Convocation requirement when thinking about where to apply for school. Even if Convocation is being marketed as non-religious…let’s face it. Just last year, we had “Chapel.” This year, we have “Convocation.” That certainly makes it seem like the name has just been changed.
Students are supposed to be able to attend a few other events to receive the same type of points they would receive for attending Convocation, such as Writers Reads. That, in itself, is great, because it means students are offered an even more diverse number of events to be forced to attend. However, Convocation is the only event scheduled for when we are guaranteed to not have classes, commitments, or athletic events. Doesn’t that mean that certain students, such as athletes, will have no choice but to attend Convocation for their points? If we were simply being offered the opportunity to learn about all these different topics, that would be fantastic. I would be all for it. I love learning for the sake of learning. But for so many reasons, I do not think requiring Convocation is a good idea.
If I were among the group of students being required to attend a certain number of Convocations, I would be coming up with a petition, and perhaps staging a protest.
