The average American spends almost $500 a year going to plays, concerts, sporting contests and other cultural events.
William Woods University plans to pay its students $5,000 to attend such events.
William Woods, in Fulton, Mo., is instituting a program called the LEAD (Leading, Educating and Developing) Award, which will give a $5,000 scholarship to any student who agrees to make a substantial commitment to campus activities.
Activities are rated on a scale from a half point to three points, and students in the program must obtain 45 points during the school year, including a minimum of four every month, to fulfill their end of the deal, said Lance Kramer, William Woods’ academic vice president.
“Over the five years that I’ve been here,” Kramer said, “I’ve seen students get so caught up with classwork, social commitments, family commitments and surfing the Internet that they haven’t had the inclination to expand their horizons by attending cultural events. Both the faculty and the student body have been aware of this problem, and they’ve both been looking for a solution.”
The problem was highlighted earlier this year when only a dozen students attended a performance by a world-famous harpist on William Woods’ campus.
Some Northwestern students believe that the same problem exists on NU’s campus.
“People here are generally lazy,” said Jodi Langer, a Weinberg freshman. “People would rather eat pizza in front of their TVs or spend hours downloading mp3s than go out and do something interesting.”
Julie Windsor Mitchell, director of University Christian Ministry, disagrees. The UCM has just finished hosting a series of firesides about the different religions of the world. She said the firesides were “hugely popular,” and she attributes their success to the enthusiasm of NU students.
“I’ve found Northwestern students to be very involved in campus activities,” she said. “They don’t need any external motivation to attend events that they’re interested in.”
NU’s administration has not expressed any interest in developing a program similar to LEAD. Some students think NU would be better off without the program.
“It’s a ridiculous idea,” said Nicole Mash, a Weinberg freshman. “Students should go to cultural activities for personal enrichment, not because they’re being bribed.”
Wayne Wu, chairman of the Asian American Advisory Board, said that attendance at AAAB-sponsored events during Asian-American Heritage Month has been “satisfactory” — but he doesn’t think NU needs to give away scholarships to promote student involvement in cultural activities.
“Students won’t be getting the most out of events if they attend because of outside influences,” he said. “The money would be better spent by giving it to student groups so they could put on better programming.”
But there are students who believe that a program similar to the one offered by William Woods would be beneficial to students over the long run.
“I think students need an initial incentive to start doing something that’s new to them, like attending cultural events,” said Jackie Nolley, a Weinberg freshman. “Once they’ve started, they won’t be able to stop.”
