By The Beacon Editorial Board
Last year, the University formed the Retention Task Force with the sole purpose of finding new strategies to retain students. This year, the University is actually putting the force's recommendations into action through the Pilots After Dark programming series.
The prompt action taken by the Office of Residence Life to increase student retention is refreshing and an example for other campus offices. A need for more social activities on campus was seen and the Office of Residence Life rose to the occasion.
The experimental Pilots After Dark program series has jumpstarted a surge in UP on-campus activities with impressive enthusiasm, and has done so in what seems to be a sustainable manner. By assigning Resident Assistants to run the events, the University has ensured the almost $10,000 budgeted for the programming is going directly toward that end.
Moreover, the events planned actually sound like fun. Beach parties, country hoe-downs and paint balloon fights. These are just three of 12 RA led free programming events that make up the Pilots After Dark agenda.
And so far, the events are drawing a huge crowd. In fact, students waited in a line a hundred people deep for the laser tag event last Friday.
When you do the math, hosting these free programming events adds up in UP's favor. The University is spending approximately a fourth of one student's yearly tuition, but in return has created the potential to keep more students at UP for the full four years.
