Graduate students should participate in campus life

When people think of graduate school, they generally see it as a time to focus only on academics, while a person’s undergraduate years are more often seen as the time to have fun and be heavily involved in campus life. However, if someone chooses to go to grad school, there’s no reason they shouldn’t be as involved as they were when they were an undergrad.

It makes sense that many graduate students wouldn’t want to be active participants in student life. Some graduate students don’t start their programs until they’re in their 30s or even 40s. Others have children to take care of and or are already working full-time. It’s completely understandable that people in these categories wouldn’t have any interest in being heavily involved in student life. However, graduate students that are in their early to mid-20s and are fresh out of undergrad or back in school with a year or two off shouldn’t feel like their time to enjoy school is over.

At a Graduate Student Government meeting with President C. L. Max Nikias in the fall of 2014, a GSG member asked Nikias what he could do to make graduate students feel more involved in the Trojan community, stating that the graduate community often felt left out.

There are so many opportunities at this school, and graduate students should take greater advantage of them. The USC student body has more graduate students than it does undergrads. Many of the organizations and events on campus are open to all USC students. A diverse group of students in graduate school with many different passions and backgrounds has so much to offer, the over 800 on-campus student organizations, a majority of which are open to both graduate and undergraduate students. There are sports clubs, faith-based groups, political organizations, networking clubs for all kinds of fields and just about every other kind of group you can imagine. Some of them are even strictly for graduate students.  These organizations are a great way to meet people and enjoy the time spent on campus.  They allow graduate students to meet, work and grow personally with other students at USC.

Sports — particularly football — is another area in which graduate students at USC can make the most out of their experience. The student section is open to all USC students and tailgating on game days is a common practice. Game day is often an integral part of the college experience, especially at USC. Graduate students, particularly those may not have gone to an undergraduate school with a major football program, can really take advantage of this. The game day experience as a student is a privilege and one that can make the graduate experience that much more memorable.

All of these things can lead to an increased social life within the USC community which generally leads to a more enjoyable graduate experience. Social life at USC is often seen as being dominated by the Greek community, which undergraduates generally participate in. However, many graduate students were in fraternities and sororities as undergrads. These students, primarily those who recently finished their bachelor’s degrees and aren’t quite ready to give up the lifestyle that Greek life offers, can potentially get involved. If a graduate student’s fraternity or sorority chapter is at USC, they’ll often be welcomed in. These grad students don’t need to be active within their chapters, but they can get to know their fellow chapter members  at USC. They can hang around the house, attend events and go to parties. Greek life presents a unique opportunity for young graduate students to have two separate experiences with their fraternity or sorority.

College is often described as the best four years of a young person’s life. If these years are so great, there’s no reason one shouldn’t be able to extend them to five or six years. As graduate school becomes more common, so too should the idea of including graduate students in the general college experience. Current USC graduate students and seniors planning on entering graduate school — whether it’s at USC or somewhere else — should take note of this. Ultimately, it’s up to individual graduate students to determine their experience. They shouldn’t feel like their graduate experience can’t be as fun as their undergraduate one, and they should make the most of their time, both socially and professionally.