Hunter College students say the school’s hard-to-look-for events schedule is causing them to feel detached from their classmates on campus.
With the school’s website severely outdated and walls covered in posters detailing past events, it’s no surprise that the community on campus feels nonexistent. However, despite what some may think, there is not a lack of events at Hunter. In reality, clubs struggle in finding ways to advertise their events effectively to the student body.
“It’s not that we don’t have a lack of events. I think it’s a matter of outreach,” said Undergraduate Student Government member Johnathan Gao. “ I do agree that there are more ways that we could do it, but it’s not as easy as putting a big billboard right outside the west building saying, ‘Hey, we got movie night next Monday.’”
Gao is the Evening Affairs Commissioner for Undergraduate Student Government, also known as USG. He assists in the creation and organizing of many events, working with clubs to ensure things move smoothly.
Gao says there are no issues relating to budget, only the question of how to properly advertise events to Hunter students. USG has used its Instagram and E-blast, an email chain that informs students on what is happening on campus, to advertise events. However, he says this is not enough as some students simply don’t have access to Instagram or check their emails.
“I think at a certain point, people get desensitized to flyers and emails,” said Gao. “I think constantly changing how we’re marketing is important.”
Olivia Palumbo is the Chair of Public Relations at the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, known as SAC. She says her club has tried many ways of advertising their events, such as having the school’s mascot the Hawk walk around campus informing students of any future games. However, participation is still low, with only enough students to fill one side of the bleachers in the school’s gymnasium during games.
She feels the lack of awareness not only contributes to low participation in events but also in clubs. Palumbo says many students are unaware of the many clubs Hunter has, with some even assuming the school lacks sports events overall.
“I realized no one knew we had sports at Hunter,” said psychology major and sophomore Olivia Palumbo. “As an athlete, I wanted to advocate for events, make athletes more fun, and build community.”
Gabrielle Jungool-Revelle is the president of the Black Student Union, also known as BSU, and like Palumbo also struggles in keeping up awareness of club events. She says her club was created in order to provide a safe space for the Black students on campus. Revelle says BSU tries to have a minimum of three events per semester.
She found that one of the main issues relating to events is budgeting. When creating large-scale events, things tend to move smoothly. Due to the event’s size, everything is prepared weeks in advance with consistent monitoring of details. However, small-scale activities tend to be tricky, with club members often using their own money to fund events.
“As much as I love spending my money for the events, we don’t know what people’s financial situations are and it’s not fair to myself, my [executive] board, and any other clubs that are going through this to come out of pocket to put events together,” said Revelle. “Money should be easily accessible, and not all this paperwork and misunderstanding.”
When hosting an event, paperwork detailing funds needed, expected attendance rates, and location are expected by USG, but small-scale events prove to be difficult to organize in advance. Palumbo says her club has had to provide their own money to fund catering for their games. BSU has done the same, with its members having to use their own money six times since the fall of 2022.
She says USG is not to blame for this lack of assistance in budgeting for events, as it is mainly a CUNY-wide concern. Before, USG was able to provide supplies such as plates, cups, snacks, and more needed by clubs. Last semester, USG announced to clubs they are now unable to purchase snacks or drinks for events due to a new CUNY policy.
Revelle says Hunter needs to start advertising events to increase school spirit on campus, “for example, they have money to put those TVs all around the campus. They could be advertising clubs.”
Gao says that due to the school’s location and status as a commuter school, there is somewhat of a disconnect to campus. However, he believes there’s no fault in the students, rather it is simply a matter of clubs creating unique events and finding various methods of advertising them.
To ensure students have a constant flow of information regarding events, linked below is a spreadsheet that all registered clubs can collaborate on. This spreadsheet will contain all events for this current semester and information on the clubs holding them.
To learn more about the events at Hunter College, access the spreadsheet here:
