To graduate from Lakeland, undergraduate students spending all four years at Lakeland need 24 convocation credits.

Convocations are events that occur on campus; they fall in either the category of fine arts or of lectures.

Some students, such as Ashley Reveals, think that convocations are unnecessary.

“I think they are a waste of time,” said Reveals. “Half of them make me fall asleep. I think 16 would be [a more reasonable requirement]. That’s two a semester, so four a year.”

When asked what she would change about them, Reveals responded, “I would change the way we choose them. Since we are the ones who are required to go, we should have more choice in the convocation, such as who comes to speak.”

Amanda Landwerh, sophomore education major, said, “I wouldn’t consider them a complete waste of time, since most of them are informative and interesting.”

In actuality, 24 credits is a reduction from what was required in the 1990s.

“I believe it was 32 or 28 [back then],” said Alan Mock, professor of sociology and chair of the Convocation Committee.

Landwerh said, “When I started at Lakeland and was told about the fine arts requirement, I thought 24 was a fair and achievable amount. However, as I got past my sophomore year and began to have more challenging classes, it has become difficult to find time to go to convocations and keep up with homework, readings, papers and presentations.”

In order for an event to qualify for a convocation credit, it must be deemed educational. It has to further develop one’s understanding of the world. That decision is left up to the committee, of which Mock is a part of.

According to Mock, convocations are not here to be annoying or a hindrance to the students.

Convocations stemmed from the requirement to attend chapel back when Lakeland was actually Mission House Seminary. From there it transformed into an academic requirement.

Students still have a choice in whether they want to go, but if they do not meet the required credits then they can’t graduate. If they still want to graduate, they will have to watch the convocations they still need in the library, writing a one- to two-paged single-spaced report on each one.

“Considering that I attend fine arts events outside of the campus,” says Landwerh, “I would like the possibility to have those count towards my total number of convocations. I feel like if I had more of a choice of what I went to I would enjoy them more.”

“Part of the college education is to push for different,” says Mock. “To experience something you haven’t before. Of course, you get lectures in class, but that isn’t enough.”

Mock compared the choice of convocations to choosing food. If you keep eating what you usually eat, you’ll never experience the richness of the other foods or cultures of the world.

When asked if the students were being force fed, he responded, “There’s enough in which they can pick and choose with maybe a little push to make sure they go and experience it. It’s all about experience and exposure to something new.”