Symposium presenters deserved a bigger audience

Last Thursday’s undergraduate research symposium marked the end of four years of hard work and a few months’ worth of research for the students presenting at the event.

For many students who did not have presentations or poster projects for the symposium, it simply marked a day to sleep in late, sleep off a hangover, catch up on homework, play Frisbee on the Quad or sit around and watch television. And that is truly a shame.

Of course it is nice to have a random day off from all classes toward the end of the semester, but there is a reason the university cancels all classes for the day on which the symposium is held.

They cancel classes because they want students to show up to the presentations and take an interest in their fellow students’ hard work.

There were more than 170 presentations on Thursday, excluding poster projects. The presentation period went from 8:30 a.m until 5 p.m. All students at UNC Asheville had ample opportunity to attend the sessions put on by their peers.

It would not be fair to condemn all UNCA students because many did show up for the symposium, but still, many more did not.

Most of the students presenting, including the ones who put together posters, put in a lot of work for their presentations because for many, their very graduation from this university depends on the successful completion of an undergraduate research project.

It is not hard to roll out of bed and go to a 20-minute presentation, nor is it too much to ask of students.

It reflects badly not just on the students themselves, but on the university as a whole when the only people who show up for another student’s presentation are the teachers in the department and the other three or four students who are presenting in the same session.

Obviously, not every presentation is going to be entertaining or extremely interesting, but most were, and for anyone who attended the sessions, they more than likely came away having learned something.

The university does not give students the day off so they can sit around and do nothing while other students who worked their asses off for a semester or two on their project can talk about it to an empty room.

Some professors require students to go to a session or two and then complete a short writing assignment regarding the presentation. While it does sort of take away from the experience when one is required to go to an event and do an assignment, at least it gets students out there.

Most people hate doing cultural events for their humanities classes, but at the very least, it gets students out into the community and to events they otherwise would probably never attend.

If students continue to be so disinterested in the undergraduate research symposium, then maybe all students should be required by a teacher in their major to attend a symposium event or two and write about it.

It would only take about 40 minutes to see two presentations, plus another 10 to 15 to do a write-up about the symposium. and then students could go back to sitting around, playing video games or disc golf or tanning on the Quad.

It is really not too much to ask of people when considering how much work their fellow students put into their research and their presentations.

It would definitely make the presenters feel better about their hard work, and actually showing an interest in the efforts of others would reflect much more positively on the university and the student body as a whole.