EDITORIAL: UNLV is strongest when academia,
student culture unite

When critics cite UNLV’s student involvement as under-par, a link to academic prestige is never far from their minds. Too often the unique culture of student life at this university is degraded by being associated with what some wrongly perceive as substandard showing in the academic community – and vice versa.

The truth is, UNLV has a lot to show for its academic efforts. And some of those who recognize the important link between student life and the academic image are working to develop foundations for strong communities based on learning intellectual discourse.

Wednesday’s English department mixer was a perfect example of how campus leaders are working to make connections between UNLV’s academic strengths and its social and cultural traditions.

The UNLV English Department is nationally recognized – the proud host of the prestigious Black Mountain Institute and home to a world class innovative creative writing graduate program.

But not even all English majors know that… so the deprtment decided to do something about it.

In an effort to bring students out from behind their stacks of literary fiction and into the world that their study has created, the English department hosted a social gathering focused on letting English majors meet distinguished professors and each other and to learn from a few alumni success stories.

Not only was the event a huge success in terms of numbers, with dozens of undergraduate English majors and graduate students appearing throughout the afternoon to mix, mingle and learn, it made an important step toward building the public community of mutual learning and benefit that UNLV and the department strive for.

The department has more community-building ideas in the works, as do many other campus entities.
Learning Communities facilitated through the Academic Success Center aim for similar ends, bringing students with similar interests together to focus on their fields and build social and professional connections.

And professional organizations like the American Medical Students Association have begun working harder than ever to reach out to members of that academic community, with campus events like Oct. 26’s fundraiser to benefit victims of natural disasters.

The more students gather together around common academic interests and intellectual goals, the stronger the image of UNLV will become as a school where the valuable ties between academia and student life are strong.
Where members of the UNLV community see scholarly work as socially engaging and social pursuits as critical to a healthy academic environment, our university will grow to shine in both areas, as a symbol of the critical relationship between both ends of the spectrum of achievement.

Academic center tabling succeeds

Helping students find the right tools to be successful at UNLV Read more

Student leaders define GPA standards

Poorly defined rules lead to closer watch on grades Read more