Campus clubs have long been a cornerstone of the college experience, offering students a space to meet new people, explore shared interests, and build leadership skills outside the classroom. But as student schedules grow increasingly packed, many organizations are being forced to rethink how they attract and retain members.
For student leaders, maintaining engagement is just as important as recruiting new members. Owen Levan-Uhler ’26, president of student-led LGBTQ+ group SPECTRUM, noted that participation can fluctuate depending on the time of year and students’ overall workload. As a result, his club – and other clubs – are beginning to reconsider what they offer and how they fit into students’ lives.
“Because of our particular campus climate, most students, including myself at times, view clubs as extra activities on top of their preexisting responsibilities and commitments,” said Levan-Uhler. “Clubs really should be a default part of students’ lives. However, college is now a business transaction rather than a period of social enlightenment.”
Students echo this concern. Art education major Lacey Yount ’28 and environmental science major Roman Verdicchio ’27 are both members of the photography club, and both say that their packed schedules make consistent attendance difficult. Between full course loads, part-time jobs, internships, and other responsibilities, attending weekly meetings can feel like an additional burden.
“When clubs overlap with class schedules during the middle of the day, it’s hard to maintain attendance,” said Verdicchio, explaining that conflicts can eventually push students to stop attending altogether. For commuter students, the challenge is even greater, as some meetings, such as those for E-Sports or Anime Club, run later into the evening.
In response, some club leaders are experimenting with new strategies to make meetings more appealing and worthwhile. In part,, that means rethinking the structure of meetings themselves.
“Strategies I use to boost engagement are to make activities goal-oriented and give a small reward for winning,” said Rey Gabriel ’28, president of the Photography Club. “It’s a little bit of competition that gets people trying sometimes. Priorities have shifted as students want to get something out of a meeting.”
Other challenges come down to communication. Some students say they often miss events simply because they never hear about them. While clubs rely on social media, email lists, and messaging platforms like Discord or GroupMe, reaching a broad audience is sometimes inconsistent.
“Every now and again, there are nice little events for them, but there’s no real advertising for clubs if a student wants to go unless they find a student who happens to attend that club,” said cellular neurobiology major and Philosophy Club member Monica Lopez ’28.
To address this, some organizations are placing greater emphasis on visibility, be it posting more frequently, collaborating with other clubs, and encouraging word-of-mouth promotion among members. These efforts aim to ensure that interested students not only know about meetings but also feel motivated to attend.
As campuses continue to evolve, student organizations are being challenged to adapt alongside them. Whether through more engaging activities, flexible scheduling, or improved outreach, clubs are finding new ways to stay relevant in students’ busy lives. Their success may ultimately depend on how well they can meet students where they are and give them a reason to keep coming back.
