Student Survey: Nearly 80% of Hudson Valley Communtiy College students aren’t involved in any extracurriular activities

By: Nolan Cleary

News Editor

With Spring break approaching, students at Hudson Valley Community College prepare for a much needed relief from tests and school work. As the middle of the semester comes to a close however, one pressing issue has yet to be addressed: the lack of student involvement on campus. 

Throughout the past week, The Hudsonian interviewed 183 students on campus. For privacy reasons, we’ve chosen to keep their names anonymous.     

Of the participants polled, 79.2% said they weren’t involved in an extracurricular activity, while just 20.8% said they were. Of those nearly 80% not involved, one of the most common answers was a lack of time. 

“I’m way too busy with too many other things,” said one student.

 Another student said their reason for not attending an extracurricular activity was because of  “time consumption and scheduling.” 

Other students cited specific reasons for avoiding clubs and sports such as moving or military duties.

Some students felt the activities of everyday life prevented them from participating in anything.

“I have children to take care of,” said one student.

Work did seem to be a common answer amongst students at Hudson Valley Community College. Students cited working both full-time and part-time jobs as well as working more than one job as reasons why they didn’t participate in extracurricular activities.

         Another common answer was location. As many students live a great distance from campus, many say they feel that having to drive to campus to attend classes, while also having to attend club, sports or job responsibilities is just too much to handle. 

Many students complained they lived over an hour away, while another student said that lack of transportation was an obstacle preventing him from participating in a club. 

“I don’t have a car [so] I can’t drive here to attend a club,” said the student.

         A common theme amongst many students was a desire to participate in a club or sport, even if they currently have no involvement. Many students said they haven’t found a club or sport that appealed to their interests, but wanted to. 

“I haven’t put myself out there,” said one student. “It’s been on my mind, however.”

“I thought about [joining] The Hudsonian [as] it was the only club I was interested in,” another student said.

Others felt discouraged by the clubs overall. 

“I find that most extracurricular activities are organized in a way that doesn’t really work for me,” said one student.

“I tried to reach out to student engagement to see if I could join something involving the Red Cross and humanities, [but] I didn’t receive a response,” said another student. 

One high school student attending Hudson Valley Community College said he had been advised by his advisor not to be involved in a club or sport, while others felt they didn’t have enough credits to join. Others said they simply weren’t interested. 

Of the 20.8% of students who did say they were involved in an extracurricular activity, 86.1% said they were involved in a club or organization, 19.4% said they were involved in a sport and 11.1% said they were a student worker. 

Of those involved in a club or organization, Upstate Gamers and Business and Entrepreneurs Club were the most popular. The majority that participated in a sport said they were involved in Track and Field, while most of the student workers said they were tutors.