When Mona Davenport attended Eastern 26 years ago, the Office of Minority Affairs did not exist.

This office now provides a number of cultural opportunities for students at Eastern, as well as cultural diversity programming.

They sponsor African-American, Asian, Latino and Native-American Heritage months throughout the year, Davenport said.

Davenport also advises EIUnity, a student organization comprised of student leaders from Registered Student Organizations that make programs specifically for diversity awareness.

They have sponsored programs such as “Hate Crime” and “Just Say Hi” to promote better communication throughout the university, she said.

According to Ann Brownson, reference librarian and Faculty Senate member, the library also hosts a number of cultural opportunities.

Students can now walk through the north end of Booth Library to see the national traveling exhibit, “Farm Life,” Brownson said.

They also offer a film series and speaker series that include faculty and outside speakers, she added.

“If you really look, you can find something of a cultural nature to do every day,” Brownson said.

These are only a handful of the cultural events Eastern holds for students throughout the year.

The question is, “Do students know about these opportunities?”

At last week’s Student-Faculty Forum, a group of administrators, faculty and students sat and discussed why student attendance at these events is lacking.

Brownson agreed when the group mentioned that students have always been on a schedule, which makes it difficult to motivate them to come to certain events.

“There are 10 to 11 thousand students (on this campus), we should be able to attract 35 (for an event),” Brownson explained.

Ceci Brinker, director of Student Life, said there is a lack of interest in sponsored events and there may be an even bigger lack of interest in the arts.

Davenport’s group of 12 debated what could be done to reach students.

During the 1980s, events were spread by word of mouth or through copied fliers posted on campus, Davenport said.

Eastern now uses posters, the Daily Eastern News, Amp Magazine, listerv’s to RA’s and even Facebook.com in order to get the attention of students across campus.

Davenport said using Facebook is an effective way to reach students.

“We have to meet them half way,” she said.

Jeff Lange, the student senate speaker, also said Facebook was an effective way to reach students.

He explained that another member of student government, Levi Bulgar, used Facebook in order to campaign.

Lange believes marketing is an issue organizations face when trying to reach students for opportunities on campus.

“You can only put up so many flyers,” Lange said.

Although the group came to a consensus that many students are not attending these events held throughout the year, Davenport believes Eastern offers many cultural opportunities.

Brinker disagreed.

She said that because of the current low funding levels, it is difficult to book top-quality cultural performing arts and entertainment.

Brinker is also responsible for overseeing the University Board and Student Entertainment Board, which is responsible for a number of events like concerts, Homecoming week and the visit of former TV star, Jody Sweetin.

Limited access to certain venues is another obstacle UB faces in sponsoring cultural events on a regular basis, she added.

The UB bases its decisions on student feedback and promotional e-mails ranging from diverse cultural entertainment to artists on the college circuit, she said.

Members of the board also attend the National Association of Campus Activities, where major entertainers or artists perform live, she added.

Eastern can work together in order to increase student attendance.

Brinker suggested having the faculty and specific departments to work collaboratively with the Student Life Office to identify cultural events, entertainment and other opportunities that will compliment their coursework and requirements.

This created the “theme” discussion among Davenport’s group.

This would involve all departments on campus to produce a common theme, such as environment or politics, and work together to create events throughout the year, as well as discussion in the classroom.

Each department could discuss how the candidates feel about certain topics like education or the environment, Brownson said.

“We are more powerful as a group,” said Kimberlie Moock, director of student orientation.