Jewell Alleman
Staff Writer
Student Convocation has been a biannual event held to bring in guest speakers to talk to students, promote campus involvement, and recognize notable faculty and FSC alumni.
Within the past few semesters, this event has featured student organizations. The student organizations come together to present events and involvement opportunities on campus in one place, making it easy and accessible for students to find events to attend throughout the semester. There are also learning opportunities for students.
Kirby Thomas, Director of Student Involvement, explained the significance of convocation and its tradition within FSC.
“I can’t say whether or not it is, but if I had to guess, it is a tradition that will stick around,” Thomas said. “I’m mostly here to just support the student organizations. The student assembly started last year, and it was very well received. The leadership wanted to continue that tradition of a student assembly. So, I was tasked with making sure that happened again.”
One of the notable moments from this semester’s student convocation was the announcement of the performers for this year’s Southern Takeover.
Three years ago, the reveal was done through SGA’s Instagram; now, the headliners are announced during Convocation. Seaniyah Smith-Wilson is a sophomore transfer student who attended convocation for the first time this semester.
“Everyone was really excited for the announcement, although I wasn’t super familiar with the artists they announced, it was cool being in such an energetic and hype environment,” Smith-Wilson said. “I thought it was very informative. They gave good information about each club and where to go to contact every club. I thought they did a good job introducing the presidents and vice-presidents of each one because, a lot of times, you don’t really know who is involved in these clubs. The multicultural club stood out to me as one I would be interested in joining that I didn’t know existed before going to the event.”
Just like in preceding semesters, the event is mandatory for students to attend. However, there is now an absence form that could be filled out for students with conflicting work or class schedules. Graduating students are not required to attend Convocation.
“I think it’s good that it is required even though it took some time out of the day, it didn’t last that long. It gives you a chance to learn more about the school if you have the time,” said Smith-Wilson.
While there have been varying opinions on having a mandatory student assembly, it has been well-received and will likely continue. However, due to the student involvement around Convocation, the traditional event has room to be flexible and change over time.
“It’s a way to welcome everyone back and have this great kind of kickoff to the semester,” Thomas said.
