Kaia Anderson, online publishing coordinator

On Oct. 1, I attended an event called Karaoke Night: Halloween Extravaganza! with a friend. While neither of us were huge fans of singing karaoke ourselves, it sounded like a fun event, getting to hang out with others, hearing people sing, and getting to eat fun snacks. The results, however, were unexpected. While we only stayed for about an hour, no one really showed up. What I mean to say is that no one showed up, and based on what the hosts had prepared food-wise, it did not seem like they expected a large crowd, or maybe even anyone at all. 

The karaoke was set up in the student lounge of Christensen Center. There were about five hosts who were gathered around a table, chatting and trying to engage passersby. The table had a bowl of chips and one singular pizza box. They also had a computer, which was connected to the screen, speakers and a microphone for singing. This was an Augsburg Seminar (AugSem) event. AugSem is an orientation class required for all freshmen to help them adjust to student life. This factor may have affected the attendance, but I strongly believe that there is more to this event’s low attendance. 

Other art-based clubs, organizations and events have been suffering similar issues. Pluto Koehnen, president of the Art Society, describes how, while they get around 50 attendees, only about half actually engage with the activities. Other organizations like the Music Student Advisory Council have similar numbers, with about 30 attendees per event. Smaller non-art clubs, like book club, math club, and rocketry, have harder times getting engagement. This could be due to a smaller reach or a less interested audience. One thing is for certain: advertising plays a huge role in whether people show up for your event or not. The Augsburg Psych Association last semester struggled with participation when posters were not put up at least a week in advance. Of course, there are other ways to advertise. Many organizations have social media where they post about upcoming events. Auggie Life and Corq are two tools students can use to find events to attend. This karaoke night certainly failed to advertise.

Another issue events face is the number of campus commuters. Commuters often have trouble attending events and interacting with student life, as they leave campus as soon as their classes end. Lennon Krueger, a second-year on campus, said, “As a commuter student, connecting to student life is a much more active effort. It’s much easier to just go home and hang out there than to spend time on campus doing their activities.” According to  U.S. News, only 25% of students live on campus, with the other 75% living off campus. If more students lived in the dorms, perhaps event attendance would be higher.

Finally, it can be hard to put yourself out there and attend events, especially as a freshman. This karaoke event may have only increased this difficulty by doing something artistically vulnerable like singing. Beyond this event, when you are new to the school and have not necessarily found your people, attending events by yourself and being surrounded by people you do not know is scary. Even upperclassmen struggle with this. A junior says, “I’m scared to socialize […] scared I won’t fit in.”

Remember, it is up to you to build the communities and spaces you want to see, so don’t be afraid to make connections! “Fear makes strangers of people who would be friends,” according to Shirley MacLaine.