Alumni Survey 2002 (1997 graduates)[1]
Student Services & Co-curriculum
What follows are direct comments students’ made in answer to the following questions: What had the most positive impact on you during your time at Eastern? And, What had the most negative impact on you during your time at Eastern?
Social Activities/Greek System/ Drinking
Positive Impact
Activities
§ Amount of social events activities. (68)
§ I was able to be involved in many activities while on campus. (87)
§ I was involved in many activities at EIU, especially Greek life, it gave me many opportunities. I would not have had anywhere elsewhere. (202)
§ Social activities on campus. (211)
§ Socially; my taking ballroom dancing and staying at Stevenson Hall. (218)
§ The fellow students and non-class activities. (251)
§ The social activities. (541)
Greek System
§ Joining my sorority (1)
§ My involvement with my sorority (Alpha Sigma Tau). It helped me with my classes (knowing I had to do well), social life and self image. (54)
§ My experience in the Greek System. (57)
§ My involvement in Alpha Phi and Pan Hellenic activities. (88)
§ My involvement in the Greek system. (121)
§ My fraternity – prepares me for a lot and I still have all my friends. (125)
§ I was a member of Alpha Sigma Tau sorority. It truly helped me with people and leadership skills. (165)
§ Friendships that were established and campus organizations (such as fraternities and sororities) that encouraged public service. (178)
§ The Greek system also encouraged me to do many service projects which was very positive for my experience at EIU. (191)
§ Sigma Chi Fraternity (316)
§ Sorority ASA, Greek life in general (322)
§ Membership in the Phi Sigma Pi National Honors Fraternity. (340)
§ My sorority experiences were a very positive impact. (356)
§ Association with Pi Kappa Alpha fraternal organization. (403)
§ Alpha Phi Omega, (outstanding pledge) (414)
§ My involvement with Beta Alpha Psi. (416)
§ Involvement in social/extracurricular activities such as the Greek system. (440)
§ Involvement in my fraternity helped me to develop social skills, relationship skills, planning, organization, management, responsibility for others, public speaking, etc. (443)
§ Delta Chi fraternity (leadership, organizational skills, public speaking) (458)
§ The sorority life of becoming active in the community and making friends (474)
§ TKA fraternity. (495)
§ Sigma Kappa Sorority (509)
§ The friends I made in my sorority. Questions 15-20 above mostly applied to my involvement in my sorority. (547)
§ Greek life/system (161, 205, 263, 264, 339, 370, 413, 425, 559, 613, 633)
Drinking
§ Women and Bars. (86)
§ Marty’s (611)
Relationships
§ Social ties. (19)
§ The friends and relationships I developed while on campus. (38)
§ Meeting new people (49)
§ Meeting my husband (59)
§ The friendships I made have been very important to me. (82)
§ Meeting new people and friends I loved (96)
§ Meeting new friends during dorm living and through classes (100)
§ The relationships I developed throughout the years. (109)
§ My husband had a positive impact. He always kept me motivated to study hard. (111)
§ I met many interesting and inspiring people. (124)
§ Meeting my wife. (125)
§ Experience of meeting people. (133)
§ Interacting with a variety of different people throughout campus and the city itself. More well rounded. (135)
§ The friends I made. My social skills. Learning to deal with others positively. I met my best friends and my husband at EIU. (158)
§ The diverse group of friends I met and lived with. (159)
§ It honestly was the personal relationships I developed socially and helping me step out of my own shell if you will. In my financial practice networking is key and I have such a strong base from college I cannot put a value on that. (173)
§ The social opportunities with other students. (183)
§ An active social life interacting with others. (222)
§ Learning to throw the best parties ever. (247)
§ Friendships that I made and being involved with MCSU. (250)
§ Meeting new people and making the best friends I ever had. (255)
§ I met my future husband! (259)
§ The most positive experience was the friendship I made at Eastern. The friendships remain very strong and close 5 years. (345)
§ The wide range of backgrounds I was exposed to. (361)
§ Also met my husband at Eastern, he is currently in Medical School at SIU, Springfield. (364)
§ The relationships developed with other people from different areas of the state, friendships that have lasted past graduation. (382)
§ Opportunity to meet other adult learners focused on the same goal. (395)
§ Developing my social skills and making friends away from home. (402)
§ The friends I made while living in Stevenson Hall. Dorm life made me into the person I have become. (424)
§ Other students, the sharing of experiences with others and I felt comfortable attending as a 37 year old single mother of 2 amongst a younger crowd! (477)
§ I met my future husband while attending EIU. (538)
§ The most positive impact was the many friends that I made during my career at Eastern. (561)
§ Social interaction, friends that I will keep for life that I met at Eastern. (569)
§ The friends I had and my sister going to Eastern was a great benefit for me. (588)
§ Friends (141, 142, 150, 197, 261, 269, 275, 277, 278, 303, 308, 317, 323, 328, 337, 339, 359, 368, 376, 419, 497, 498, 500, 544, 567, 573, 589, 615, 624, 628, 629)
Negative Impact
Activities
§ Working 40 hours a week took away from experiencing a lot of EIU extracurricular activities. (40)
§ Lack of student involvement in clubs and athletics. (17)
§ Lack of social events without being in Greek system. Limited places to go for fun under age of 21. (93)
§ Needed more activities incorporated with the college and the area around. (189)
§ Lack of cultural experience. I.e. Plays. (315)
§ Student apathy. (379)
§ Not much for students not involved with Greek organizations. (412)
§ It felt as though you didn’t really have a connection to the university if you didn’t live in the dorms or belong to a fraternity. All of the activities tended to revolve around those groups. (470)
§ Being made to join clubs and organizations that I had to pay for when I did not have the time, money, or interest to do so. (548)
§ Not getting more involved in organizations. (570)
§ The apathetic nature of Eastern as a whole. (582)
§ Almost losing men’s swimming and wrestling to title 9. (589)
§ Charleston—a lot of history and nature that I didn’t know about that would have helped me enjoy my time more outside or involved with my study time.
Greek System
§ The current Greek system consistently divided the student population. (39)
§ I couldn’t afford to go Greek and although I participated in as much as possible, I was often left behind. I still had a great time, but had to find people who were non-Greek! (45)
§ Greek system had the most negative impact on me. Building a large Greek system seems ridiculous at such a small school. (85)
§ The Greek system. Let’s not try to center all camps and homecoming activities around them. (95)
§ Some of the people were not that friendly. (111)
§ Sorority involvement- if I could go back, I wouldn’t have wasted all my time/money with a sorority. (146)
§ Sorority chapter closed at end of my senior year so I haven’t been as active an alumna as I probably would have been at EIU. (202)
§ Going through the Greek rushing week. (237)
§ Campus activities revolved around Greek organizations. (272)
§ Too much fraternity stuff. Need to have activities for all students. (373)
§ The separation between groups of students such as Greek houses and off campus housing. (423)
§ The greater influence on social organizations (Greek, etc) rather than academics. (431)
§ Seeing the segregation between people in the Greek system to those not in the Greek system (fraternities and sororities). (438)
§ Fraternity life (448)
§ Since I was not in a sorority I never quite felt accepted by a lot of other students. (546)
§ Eastern is a very Greek school! (549)
§ Too many groups for frats/sororities. (592)
§ I went to a fraternity rush party once, I hated it. (598)
Drinking
§ Alcohol (152)
§ There is no culture. Campus life is very limited to drinking or very little else. I also felt that ‘free expression’ has gone over board at the cost of others moral beliefs (perversion is OK, moral standards are not). This is an attitude found all over campus. (250)
§ The underage drinking and pressure. (268)
§ The town lacked things to do besides drinking. (339)
§ Overly social atmosphere, underage drinking. (378)
§ Mayor Cougill raising the bar entry age to 21. The original bar entry age of 18 was the reason I chose EIU. Just kidding, there wasn’t a negative impact. (476)
§ Social – moving the bar entry age to 21, it took some to the spirit away from Eastern. The skill of going up to a stranger and striking up a conversation is not learned in the classroom, but in a bar. This is how a lot of relationships are formed and nurtured in the business world. (568)
§ I think Eastern needs to shed its image of the party school. (569)
Relationships
§ I met my future husband! (260)
§ Returning to school again. (374)
§ Psycho ex-girlfriends. (458)
Co-curriculum
Positive Impact
§ Being involved in other co-curricular activities. (1)
§ Being in athletics helped a great deal. My coaches helped out with my course load, course work and acted like father figures. Being on a team made it easier to adjust to the college life, just like sororities/fraternities helped others. (7)
§ The opportunity to take part in activities out of the class room. (9)
§ Being involved in different clubs. (53)
§ My involvement with the Student Rec Center was enjoyable and fun (57)
§ Being an RA for Ms. Barbara Busch (59)
§ My participation with the university athletics department (62)
§ Working at the Daily Eastern News. It was practical experience that further embedded with me the lessons being taught in the journalism and communication courses. (65)
§ My year as a resident assistant in Douglas (72)
§ Intramural program was a positive to have because it provided a relief from a student’s studies. (82)
§ As an RA at Eastern, I got to meet so many great individuals. (99)
§ Becoming involved with activities related to my major (health studies). (100)
§ My involvement with intercollegiate athletics. (106)
§ All the extra activities I was involved in. (122)
§ RHA/ hall council (144)
§ The hands on experience at WEIU TV were very helpful (146)
§ I participated in many extra curricular activities which helped me tremendously. (147)
§ My employment in the Speech communication office and involvement with the department coupled with student activities (and student senate). (161)
§ Opportunities to become involved in organizations (169)
§ Playing Rugby. (181)
§ Extra curricular activities (recreation center) and develop a scholarly career path. (197)
§ Being involved in an RSO—Intervarsity Christian Fellowship (198)
§ office of student activities (205)
§ Becoming a resident assistant for two years (237)
§ My experience as an RA, being involved in NRHH and the recycling program. (250)
§ Being involved in campus organizations especially the marching band (254)
§ Involvement with the business clubs and Greek system. (256)
§ Ray Padovan and the swim team. (273)
§ I would have to say the student activities. (278)
§ Campus ministry (279)
§ The group I participated in CRHA, Intervarsity Bacchus, NRHH, Residence Hall Counselor, etc. (281)
§ Student government (285)
§ Women’s basketball (290)
§ Competing on EIU’s track and field team for four years. (292)
§ Get involved with the campus/student organizations. (295)
§ The student publications program – it may seem amateurish – but the program is worth more the any class at Eastern. (305)
§ Activities at Tarble (307)
§ My involvement with intervarsity, and RSO on campus (324)
§ Rec. Center (339)
§ Being an RA. (343)
§ Being a resident assistant. (346)
§ Cross country track helped me develop discipline that carried over to my class work. (347)
§ Clubs and organizations available to the student body. (365)
§ Competing on the mock trial team (pre-law). Working with the university administration on tuition and fee review committee. (379)
§ Working at the Daily Eastern News. (389)
§ Involvement with Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. (400)
§ University Board, (subway chair), student teaching, Residence Hall Association, (Treasurer) – really helped me grow. (414)
§ Working for the student newspaper. Being surrounded by faculty that treated students professionally. This gave me a sense of what to expect out in the real world. (432)
§ I also enjoyed being an athlete (women’s swimming and diving). I’m not sure I would have had those opportunities at another school. (442)
§ When I enrolled in the study abroad program for one semester. (445)
§ Extracurricular activities. (448)
§ My job as a resident assistant had the most positive impact on me during my time at EIU. That job prepared me for the real world in many ways. It helped me to learn to manage multiple roles at once (student, role model, etc.). (450)
§ Sports (teamwork, diverse backgrounds). (458)
§ People I worked with in Old Main as a student worker. (468)
§ The workout facilities were great. (470)
§ Being able to participate in several co-curricular activities. (493)
§ Participating in intercollegiate track and cross country. (499)