Engaged falls short of goals
Rain and marketing strategy cited as causes
Hopkins Engaged, the student-run initiative to encourage greater political awareness as the presidential election approaches, was held as part of last weekend's Fall Fest activities despite the inclement weather.
Even though attendance was sparse, the majority of events continued as planned. The Glass Pavilion was the staging area for a variety of groups ranging from live musical performers and political speakers, to student and grassroots political groups.
Both executive directors of Hopkins Engaged, Dan Teran and Eva Yopes acknowledged the effect of the weather on the event "I think our efforts for Hopkins Engaged set precedent for an innovative means of programming, and unfortunately this year our event was largely foiled by poor weather," Teran said.
Some of the students who attended Hopkins Engaged expressed their dissatisfaction with the event, noting the lack of political diversity of the invited groups. Many of the undergraduate students were skeptical that any particular event could rally the campus community to be politically conscious.
"I didn't find the political portion of Hopkins Engaged to be that interesting," sophomore Mike Maiale said. "I don't think Hopkins students ever would have been really interested in spending a lot of time walking around among tables from radical political groups. The lack of political diversity was disappointing."
According to Teran, the City of Baltimore Office of Emergency Management confirmed that on Saturday, the day of Hopkins Engaged, the city received the most rain it has had in five years.
"We think that while we didn't get as many people as we wanted due to rain, the event was a success," Yopes said. "It ran smoothly, the speakers were interesting and got students engaged in what they were saying, and the groups that attended were interesting and had useful information."
According to Yopes, the funding for Hopkins Engaged was under the projected budget. The planners are still working on the reimbursement.
Even though attendance was sparse, the majority of events continued as planned. The Glass Pavilion was the staging area for a variety of groups ranging from live musical performers and political speakers, to student and grassroots political groups.
Both executive directors of Hopkins Engaged, Dan Teran and Eva Yopes acknowledged the effect of the weather on the event "I think our efforts for Hopkins Engaged set precedent for an innovative means of programming, and unfortunately this year our event was largely foiled by poor weather," Teran said.
Some of the students who attended Hopkins Engaged expressed their dissatisfaction with the event, noting the lack of political diversity of the invited groups. Many of the undergraduate students were skeptical that any particular event could rally the campus community to be politically conscious.
"I didn't find the political portion of Hopkins Engaged to be that interesting," sophomore Mike Maiale said. "I don't think Hopkins students ever would have been really interested in spending a lot of time walking around among tables from radical political groups. The lack of political diversity was disappointing."
According to Teran, the City of Baltimore Office of Emergency Management confirmed that on Saturday, the day of Hopkins Engaged, the city received the most rain it has had in five years.
"We think that while we didn't get as many people as we wanted due to rain, the event was a success," Yopes said. "It ran smoothly, the speakers were interesting and got students engaged in what they were saying, and the groups that attended were interesting and had useful information."
According to Yopes, the funding for Hopkins Engaged was under the projected budget. The planners are still working on the reimbursement.
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