The initial purpose of Prime Times is to build the community within a residence hall. However, it is known that Prime Times are not the most well attended events. Are Prime Times fulfilling their purpose? Perhaps Prime Times need to be redesigned in order to successfully build community.
According to the Whitworth website, the goals of prime time are “…to build community and grow adults in an atmosphere where students can feel known, engaged, and welcomed.” In their current format, the effectiveness of Prime Times varies between each community on campus.
In a survey sent out to all Whitworth students, there was a question that asked what they believed the goal of primetime was. The most common responses were “to build community” and “to have fun.” While “building community” is mentioned in the Prime Time goal statement, the more important aspect is that students feel known, welcomed and engaged. In some cases, those goals are fulfilled by the Prime Time event, but in their current, nightly, two to three hour state, they often fall short of their goals.
This is not an accusation towards the student leaders on campus. They put in a ton of work to Prime Times to make them fun and engaging for students, but the nightly nature of Prime Times means that few are a hit, and many are not as effective.
In order to improve interest and attendance in Prime Times, they could be reformatted to occur only a few times a week or rotate dorms each week to attract a larger number of students. That would allow student leaders to have more planning time and would still meet the stated goals put forth by Student Life.
Editorials in the “In the Loop” section reflect the majority opinion of the Editorial Board, comprised of five editors.