By Sarah Severson
Thirty years ago, BYU students were busy with activities on campus or with their ward friends. Now the social focus at BYU has changed, according to alumni and current students.
'We studied, worked and went to basketball games - the Fieldhouse was always packed,' said Michael Semken, a 1971 BYU alumnus.
'There were always fun dances each week on campus,' said James Rawson, a 1971 BYU alumnus. 'I don''t think they do that anymore.'
Entertainment was also brought in from outside the school.
'I remember watching the Harlem Globe Trotters play,' Rawson said.
Competitive road shows and plays were common, but because of the growth of the church, those are not done anymore, he said.
These were not the only church social functions bigger thirty years ago.
'Back in those days we had mutual every week,' said Jennifer Thompson, a 1971 BYU alumna. 'There was a lot more ward activity.
Thompson also said in her apartments, the girls always cooked together and took turns cooking for each other.
'Now it''s just unheard of,' she said. 'We were more domestic, I guess.'
1971 BYU alumna Sharlene Skidmore was in a service club, and said there were a fair amount of them. She had friends involved, so she joined from interest in what they were doing.
'I now have a son attending BYU, and had a daughter there for years, and I''ve never heard them mention anything about clubs,' Skidmore said.
Stephen Robinson, a BYU 1971 alumnus and ancient scripture professor at BYU, said students are richer now and have less social concern.
In his interchanging with students, Robinson finds their concerns are for themselves, their futures, and their grades, taking care of themselves in the style they are accustomed. Students in the 1960s worried less about themselves and more about what was going on in the world.
'My impression was that there was more club and organizational activity 30 years ago because there wasn''t quite the emphasis on the individualist outlook to life, where all time goes towards 'my career,' 'my job,' and 'my grades,' Robinson said.
Robert Rogers serves as first counselor in a bishopric of a BYU student ward. As a student thirty years ago, he did a lot of things with his friends, like fishing and hunting.
'There is a big difference today - when I was a student, activities at BYU were popular,' he said. 'Now a lot of kids spend time with their computers.'
Rogers said as a student he did not have a calculator, let alone a computer.
'Kids these days are high tech with their cell phones, Palm Pilots and computers,' he said.
Technology may make life more complex, but this does not mean today''s student activities are drastically different from those thirty years ago.
'I like just hanging out, watching a movie and getting pizza with my friends,' said Jen Lau, 21, a junior majoring in communications, from Seattle.
Amie Adams, executive director of campus activities for BYUSA, said there are events on campus with large involvement.
An estimate of 25,000 people from all over the community attended Fall Fling last year, she said.
BYUSA campus activities put on things appealing to the general student body, such as Homecoming and Preference dances, Adams said.
It is tough, however, to regularly draw everyone back on campus on the weekends because the resources are not available, she said.
'It''s more people coming on campus in small groups or special interest things, like a Latin dance or a club event,' Adams said. 'The Hub, hub.byu.edu, always lists things to do.'