There is a loneliness epidemic at UCCS, according to Senator of Innovation Isabella Polombo. 

According to the National College Health Assessment conducted at UCCS earlier this spring, 49.3% of student respondents reported feeling lonely. Students who self-identify as transgender or gender non-conforming were more likely to experience loneliness, with 69.5% of student respondents in that category reporting feeling lonely. 

According to a survey conducted by the Scribe, students place a high value on community at UCCS, with most respondents ranking the importance of community above a 5 on a scale of 1-10. Despite this, students reported they have struggled to build community at UCCS, with 56% reporting that they do not believe the university has helped them find a community. 

Noelle San Souci, director of student engagement and leadership, said students struggle to find community because of a lack of common spaces on campus, making students feel isolated.  

“We have a campus that is in a funky shape and is really long and narrow. We’re on a hill, so we’re not like Colorado College in the middle of a city where it’s walkable, which I think adds to community and having that central space,” San Souci said.  

According to Senator of Innovation Isabella Polombo, UCCS needs more “light” activities to engage busy or burnt-out students. “If you have to be overly engaged in order to feel like you have a community on campus, I think there’s a problem with that model, so I do think there needs to be a shift that allows for the least amount of work for people to develop these communities,” she said. 

Students’ ability to find community could be improved by Student Life being more interactive and getting on their level, according to San Souci. This includes better outreach via tabling and proper advertisement.  

Student community is further hindered because students don’t know where to find a community, according to Rebecca Cherpak, the coordinator of student engagement. 

Students can find community by joining clubs, organizations and Greek life or by attending events hosted by UCCS, San Souci said. Students can get help finding a community by talking to a member of the Student Life staff.  

Clubs and organizations  

UCCS has over 200 clubs and organizations that are open to all students. According to Cherpak, there are seven club categories: special interest, cultural, academic, recreational, honor society, faith-based and club sports.  

Student Life developed a program that matches students to clubs that fit their interests called  ClubMatch according to San Souci. Students can learn more about the clubs on campus by attending the fall and spring club fairs. All club events posted on Mountain Lion Connect (MLC) are open to the public. There are, on average, four to five events each week.  

Students can create their own club if it does not yet exist on campus. To establish a club, a student needs three additional members and a club constitution, according to Cherpak. The next club registration opens in August via MLC.  

Greek life  

UCCS has three fraternities and four sororities. Greek life is dedicated to establishing and deepening lifelong friendships, according to its website. 

Of the fraternities and sororities on campus, there are several governing bodies, including two interfraternity council organizations, two panhellenic council organizations and two national pan-hellenic council organizations. Pi Lambda Chi Latina Sorority is not affiliated with any council.  

Students can join or learn more by emailing [email protected] or contacting the fraternity or sorority they are interested in joining. 

Events  

According to San Souci, Student Life plans to host more off-campus events to cater to commuter and non-traditional students. Student Life is working on diversifying the location of events to account for students who are not often near the University Center, where the Student Life lounge is located. 

Student Life hopes to increase collaboration with other departments on campus, such as the Wellness Center and Veteran Center, said San Souci. “Other campus departments are all part of the puzzle of doing student engagement.” 

Events posted on MLC are open to all students. 

Students can text “STUDENTS” to 71444 to opt-in for text updates of Student Life events. 

The Spine. Photo by Logan Cole.