It’s rather that so many Pitt-Johnstown clubs and organizations are having difficulty filling their positions. 

Student Government Association, which is one of the larger and more powerful student organizations, has a noticeable shortage of applicants applying for vacant positions. 

The vacancies are puzzling. A position on student government means that a student can voice his/her views on what would best represent the student body. 

With the complaining we hear, it is perplexing that students aren’t eager to join. 

Furthermore, student government isn’t the only student organization  struggling to get its positions filled. 

Most clubs and organizations have sustained a decrease in their student participation over the years. 

Not only is being a member of a club or organization a boost for one’s résumé, but it is also an opportunity for students to leave the confines of their dorm rooms to engage in a hobby, to try something new or to provide service to thier community. 

While it is understandable that clubs and organizations should not take the priority over one’s grades, and that students should devote their time to academic work first, there is usually enough time left over for students to engage in other productive activities.

Although there could be many reasons to explain why there is this decrease in student participation in extracurricular activities, it is rather sad to see that there is a downturn in participation. Such participation means that the community is less than it could be.

This means that students hold the power to change the community that they are in, and that the complaints that students may have about being a college student could inform decision making if they were to participate more in clubs and organizations.