Lack of interest in student organizations, are they still relevant?

As someone who grew up in a campus student organization environment, I am aware that today’s student phenomenon is decreasing in interest in joining organizations both internal and external to the campus. On the one hand, this phenomenon is an alarm sign, the collapse of students’ interest in the world of organizations which has accompanied the dynamics of students while studying on campus for quite a long time.

So why did this phenomenon finally appear? Is it because student organizations cannot compete with the times? Or are campus organizations unable to make a real contribution to students being competitive in the future world of work? Or do campus organizations themselves always use systems that are quite outdated and very ineffective in dealing with young people’s problems?

There are several things that student organization administrators can do to improve their image and attract many students to become cadres so that they can continue to run the wheels of an organization that will not die.

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First, student organizations have failed to respond to changing times. It cannot be denied that many student organizations still use old methods to move the wheels of the organization. Like a bureaucracy that is very rigid, and always emphasizes a leadership hierarchy that relies solely on seniority.

Meanwhile, today, students across the country are filled with people (Gen Z and Alpha) who prefer flexible, collaborative, fast and non-watching dialogue spaces. They don’t like the old way of a system that is too formal and tiered.

Organizations that cannot respond to the needs of today’s students will not be looked at and may even be left behind. Because today’s students prefer something that moves quickly, such as the flow of information on social media.

Second, the changing space of street interaction towards digital. In the past, one measure of the attractiveness of a student organization could be measured through action movements on the streets, in voicing all the aspirations of the community to the government. An organizational activist can be said to be very cool, if he is able to give a loud speech to defend the rights of oppressed people.

Today, students enjoy the call for action without involving themselves on the streets. Those who take to the streets to demand and defend people’s rights can use content on social media platforms, use petitions, or form wild opinions on social media networks.

Also read: Students, we are not talking about the past

On the one hand, today’s students are aware that to build personal branding you don’t have to be involved as an administrator in an organization. They simply channel their ideas and narratives through all social media platforms.

Third, the bad image given by the organization to the public. Not a few students are disappointed with all forms of bad images in the organization which are actually created by the management of the organization itself.

One example is, when the contestation for the election of a candidate for chairman is often characterized by acts of thuggery, riots and even riots which are completely unnecessary. From this phenomenon, a bad image of student organizations is built in the eyes of (Gen Z and Alpha) that if they join an organization, sooner or later they will be involved in things like that. So they try to avoid entering the circle of student organizations which is actually very unhealthy.

What is mentioned above is also exacerbated by organizational culture which is often found to have toxic circles. Which is filled with all kinds of seniority dramas, and endless dramas of internal political disputes. In the end, the organization is not a place to upgrade oneself, but a place for stress which results in being late for graduating from college on time.

Fourth, weak regeneration and innovation. You can find many student organizations that are quite weak in providing regeneration to their members. So they only often get sweet promises about power relations, political relations and relationships that often justify any means to come to power.

This toxic circle is created because many organizational administrators are found only trying to maintain traditions from generation to generation, so they do not have relevant innovations to face the challenges of the times, amidst the wave of information and renewal. Ultimately, an organization without innovation is just a boring and boring association.

Also read: “Still” few female leaders on campus, why?

Fifth, students are more interested in practical matters. Many students do not channel their talents and interests in organizations because the organization does not really offer practical things such as self-development to face future job demands, so many expressions are found that are quite striking; “Why join an organization if it doesn’t have an impact on honing skills and providing space for future work?”

It’s time for student organizations to improve

If there are no structural improvements within the scope of student organizations, then Gen Z and Alpha will forever not look at student organizations as a place to forge themselves.

Today’s students need free space to express themselves without barriers such as seniority which actually burden members of stuck organizations. Without ruling out the possibility that today’s generation needs a space that is inclusive, relevant, fast and meaningful. Because basically an organization that survives is an organization that is able to transform to become a place of growth, not just a place of activity.

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Writer: Dimas Setyawan Saputro
Editor: Rara Zarary