The fun on-campus activities at Misericordia cause excitement for a first-year college student. Campus Life does not disappoint and, in February alone, have held an event for the Super Bowl, hosted an iCarly night, had Nick’s Crumble’s, and gave out chocolate-covered treats for Valentine’s Day.

But how many students show up to these events? With events being held for multiple hours during the middle of the day, students can stop by quickly to grab a quick snack or say hello. Yet, some students do not have the time to stop their busy day to wait in line for the snack or make the small craft offered.

In more simple terms, some students just may not be interested in the events. While Campus Life offers events for everyone, not every student will enjoy a showing of Marvel’s “Black Panther,” play Bingo, or an iCarly night.

It is hard for student-athletes to set time aside for sports and academics to attend these events and still have time to do assignments. As a track and field athlete, I have practice every day for about two hours and an hour lift three days a week. Thirteen hours of my week are dedicated to my sport, and that is for track alone.

Basketball is still in season, with practices every day and games to compete in, and football has begun spring ball with lifts every day and only Fridays off. Softball, tennis, and golf are getting into the swing of things and take students away from being able to take part in the activities usually held at night. Most events during the week are when athletes are doing homework or finishing practice.

For non-athletes, the answer could be there is just too much work to set aside time for events. Health Science majors tend to have the most trouble setting aside work, while other majors, as Sports Management, find themselves with more time.

About 40% of Misericordia’s students are athletes. While that still leaves 60% available for campus events, faculty must understand the amount of work given to students with little time to do it and they must understand sometimes students are just incapable of attending the events.

Upperclassmen struggle with attending events, as an unnamed junior occupational therapy student I spoke to has no time during the day between taking 18 credits, attending practice, working a job, and not living on campus. She barely has time to sit down at her home and eat a full meal before she leaves for class, practice, or work, allowing no time for on-campus activities.

If school administrators and faculty want more student participation, they should reconsider the amount of time they take away from students and allow them more time to participate.