Show Me Day: Is the hassle worth it?

Stepping onto a college campus for the first time can be exhilarating. Show Me Day, designed to showcase the vibrant campus life and opportunities available at Southeast Missouri State University, gives prospective students a glimpse into their potential future.

However, some students find themselves torn between welcoming prospective students and feeling disrupted by the influx of visitors.

Show Me Day is a premier campus visit day open to anyone considering enrolling as a student at SEMO, whether it's interested high school students, transfer students or even graduate students.

Students arrive at SEMO’s Show Me Center, where there is a kickoff presentation and a chance for students to meet their admissions counselor. These tour days take place on Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Director of Admissions Lenell Hahn said SEMO’s admissions counselors meet with prospective students on Show Me Day to give them guidance on new student or prospective student tasks.

“They’re the person that helps students through the full journey, from learning about the university, to deciding to attend, helping them apply and complete all the new student items,” Hahn said.

Show Me Day continues with tours of campus. Faculty provides a variety of routes for students to be able to see different buildings. This allows the experience to be more tailored to what the prospective student may be majoring in or considering.

Hahn said the day concludes with a complimentary lunch in Towers Landing and an open computer lab for students and families to be able to complete any new student tasks they may want to get done.

“So if someone after the event is ready to apply for admission, or maybe they’re already admitted and want to sign up for housing, do their FAFSA, sign up for orientation. We can help them get all those things checked off their boxes,” Hahn said.

SEMO has been hosting Show Me Days for about 35 years, and the administration has made changes over the years to make the day go smoother, like adding more tour routes to reduce foot traffic and adding more opportunities to showcase the campus, like a student involvement fair.

But even with the changes, students currently attending SEMO have conflicting opinions on the day.

One major complaint students currently attending the university had about Show Me Day was the amount of traffic it creates across campus.

Tour groups enter the dorms for tours, and it can cause congestion in the halls. Traffic also accumulates in places like the dining halls and restaurants, making getting meals more difficult for students living on campus.

Freshman Biomedical Science major Cleda Orton stated tour groups make it difficult for her to get places inside the towers complex.

“The tour groups get really packed in the hallways, especially in the hall by the ESports arena and Rowdy’s, it gets really hard to get out of the dorm,” said Orton.

Orton felt one way to remedy this would be to keep students more organized while touring and keep everyone moving when crossing streets on campus.

While some students express frustration over the traffic disruptions caused by the Show Me Day tour groups, others feel differently.

Some students feel Show Me Days are an invaluable opportunity to provide guidance for prospective students.

Senior Psychology major DeAnna Vann is a student tour guide for Show Me Day and believes that Show Me Days gives her a chance to pass on knowledge of the campus to prospective students.

“It’s a very nice way for groups on campus to advertise towards the incoming students, and it’s a great way to target all types of students who want to find their niche on campus. I love to engage with tour groups. I allow them to feel like this is a safe space, just letting them have all the information and letting them ask as many questions as they want, because when I first got here, I didn’t have that,” said Vann.

While students have differing opinions on how Show Me Day goes for students living on campus, one thing is for sure: Show Me Day boosts enrollment at SEMO.

Hahn said that families who attend Show Me Day have more information, which makes them more likely to enroll at the university.

Hahn also states Show Me Day not only provides information for prospective students, but boosts peer connection.

“I think our current students want to see this university thrive, so I would hope they're excited when they see other families checking out the university they attend and want to help us showcase the university the best we can,” said Hahn.