By Alysha Pluta, Student Life Editor

Time and time again, clubs and organizations at La Roche organize activities and they have low attendance rates.

At the recent La Roche Literary Society Event, six students came to listen to alumni Jeff Sradomski talk about climbing Mount Everest.

Active Minds, an organization striving to reduce the stigma around mental health and creating a safe space on campus, hosted its last meeting with six students in attendance. The Outdoors Club had three students at their first meeting.

But what’s happening, and why is no one showing up?

It’s even hard to get answers to these questions.

The Redhawk Post emailed questions about student participation to the club’s leaders, and many failed to respond. Two leaders provided responses.

When asked about the amount of student participation, Liza Alvarez Perdomo, president of Active Minds, said, “It has been difficult to get people to participate mainly because of our small campus setting and the fact that a large part of those interested cannot make it to meetings.”

This seems to be the case for many students.

Students do not have time to attend club meetings because of their classes, schoolwork, internships, jobs, and relationships.

This makes things more difficult for those organizing these activities.

“I wanted to have more meetings,” Anthony Provident, creator of the new Outdoor Adventures club said. “But I didn’t know how to get more people to get involved. Then the semester was halfway over, and it became even more difficult to plan things.”

So, what should club leaders do to get people involved?

Find a way to work with everyone’s schedules.

When Active Minds started at the beginning of the semester, club advisor Diana Atkinson sent out a Doodle Poll to interested students. This allowed them to find a time for meetings that works with most students interested.

Create a form of communication.

Whether that is through email, texts, or social media, find a way to communicate that works for the group.

“We created a discord server to open up a better medium of communication among members and participants,” Perdomo said.

Give students ample information about the club and activity.

When students know that a club focuses on something they are passionate about, or that an activity is something they would be interested in, they are more likely to participate.

This is where the Outdoor Adventures Club ran into issues.

“I didn’t make time to create flyers or send out email blasts,” Provident said. He said he knows that that’s the main issue in getting people to participate in his club.

Organize engaging activities and meetings that encourage students to participate.

Students are more likely to attend and participate in events that are intriguing to them or that they will get something out of.

It’s going to take a lot of work on everyone’s part to get more students to get more involved.

Hopefully, with persistence and dedication, students will get more involved because these activities are part of what makes La Roche the diverse institution that it is.