Write-Up Contextual Overview: Loyola University Chicago

Ben Watkins, Annaleah Acosta, Joseph Smith Professor Van de Wiele COMM 237-202 15 March 2024 Group Project #1 Write-Up Contextual Overview: Outside of the classroom, student involvement in extracurricular activities carries a significant toll on overall student health and success. The degree of participation in extracurricular activities has a direct effect not only on a student’s academic performance, but also the development of their individual identity and social skills. Students involved in extracurricular activities have also been found to possess higher levels of self-esteem. Thus, it is not surprising that Loyola deems co-curricular involvement “an essential part of Loyola University Chicago.” While the benefits of extracurricular involvement

Although Loyola has, for the most part, shifted back to their traditional modes of operation prior to the pandemic, lingering effects still are felt. Thus, it is more crucial than ever that Loyola delivers innovative approaches to facilitating student engagement and communicating the benefits of it.

Problem Statement: Currently, information pertaining to extracurricular involvement is distributed in three distinct ways. Firstly, Loyola puts on Student Organization Fairs where leaders of various clubs and organizations are able to promote their group and attract new members. Student Organization Fairs serve to put a face to an organization, allowing for face-to-face interaction and dialogue to assist in determining where an individual fits in. However, these events have their limitations. There tends to be only one scheduled Student Organization Fair each semester for a few hours of the day. For example, the last Student Organization Fair was held on August 30, 2023 from 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm in Gentile Arena on the Lake Shore campus. This narrow framing limits the ability for students to be able to be in