Why can’t people stick around on the weekend?

It is the weekend. You walk out of your dorm, and what do you see? Empty parking lots. Everywhere you look, empty parking lots! I have to stop and ask. What is the deal? Why has Western Carolina become a “Suitcase Campus”? School is supposed to be the time of exploration and fun. People should be out socializing and doing things and being active with school. Instead, Friday rolls around, and people pack their bags and head back home. This is a small campus, and it’s located in a small community. But that doesn’t mean that when the weekend comes, everyone should pack up and leave. It is important, especially on a small campus, for students to stay around on the weekend. Living in a community like this is very difficult because there is so little for students to go out and do. But there will never be things for students to if everyone leaves. It is a Catch-22 situation. There are no students because there is nothing to do, and there is nothing to do because there are no students. Something has got to change. People should either demand that there be more activities to do in this area, or stay around campus so that more stuff is attracted to the area. Sure this is a small town, but it can’t get any bigger if no one stays around. There are a lot of things that can keep students occupied on the weekend. Stop for a minute and take a look around at where we are. We are in the mountains! We are in the middle of a national forest. We are an hour away from Asheville. There are countless things to do in this area. There are trails to hike, rivers to raft, shops to explore, shows to see and so much more. It might take a little imagination and a little exploring, but there are things to do around here. This is college; you are expected to be creative and explore. You are expected to use your imagination. Part of the college experience involves getting out on your own and learning how to survive without the help of a parent. That can’t be accomplished by packing up the car and heading home at the end of the week. Get your friends together, plan an outing, do something. More things will become available as more people stay on campus. More bars and restaurants will open. And more stores and attractions will come to the area. But they won’t come as long as the campus stays empty on the weekend.Can it really be that hard to find something to do? Why leave? Why go home on the weekends when there is so much potential waiting around here? It is easier to be bored at school because there is always the possibility of finding something to do. It just takes a little thinking, and it can’t hurt that bad to use your brain to be creative. So, stay on campus every once and a while. The more people there are to stay on campus, the more possibilities there are for things to do!