Memorial University has multiple campuses across Newfoundland and Labrador which cater towards different academic focus areas. Out of the five provincial options, St. John’s and Grenfell campuses act as the most popular choices for students.
St. John’s is Memorial’s largest campus with 14,770 active students as compared to Grenfell Campus in Corner Brook which has 1,019 students, according to MUN’s 2024 Fact Book. Grenfell also provides a smaller selection of programs than St. John’s, however they are the only campus to offer the Visual Art and Theatre majors.
But despite the contrasts in numbers and academic focus, are the student life experiences also different?
Difficulties meeting new people
Two students who spoke with The Muse claimed they struggled with meeting new people on both campuses.
Fourth year Chemistry student Julie Lawrence has studied at both Grenfell and St. John’s campuses, noting that Grenfell’s smaller population made it easier to bond with others in class. “I find making friends at Grenfell is easier because of how small it is, you see the same people around. I was more likely to make a friend in a class at Grenfell rather than make one in class at MUN (St. John’s).”
Being from the West Coast, Lawrence expressed that the transition to St. John’s campus was difficult as, “it seems (in St. John’s) most people already have a group of friends and stick to those friends.”
Graduate student Thomas Drover had a similar experience after attending both campuses. Being from St. John’s, he found the same thing happening at Grenfell. “A few of the people who I became friends with were actually also from St. Johns. I found it tough to meet new people.”
Drover told The Muse how student numbers seem to impact these relationships, emphasizing how St. John’s campus’ larger population creates issues for some students. However, he also claimed the amount of people met overall didn’t seem that different between campuses.
“I mean, there are just so many more people in St. John’s… especially in first year, there’s a lot less chance that you will know people in the class,” later adding, “Odds are you’ve had a class with a significant number of people in at least your program at Grenfell… you get to know maybe the same number of people… it’s not all that different really.”
Clubs, societies, and events
Both Lawrence and Drover said St. John’s campus seems to offer more societies and events than Grenfell.
Lawrence said that despite not being overly interested in on-campus activities at Grenfell, she didn’t notice many opportunities to do so. “I didn’t personally partake in much of student life but there were definitely less clubs advertised. There’s more opportunities if you were comfortable joining clubs at MUN (St. John’s).”
Drover felt the same way, saying his faculty didn’t actually have an active society that he knew of. He feels as though the small faculty sizes at Grenfell are most likely the cause. “Each department is only relatively small out there. It seems that there are at least enough people in each program in St. Johns where it’s viable to try and do these activities.”
Conclusion
Though St. John’s campus’ abundant student population creates difficulty in class as compared to Grenfell, there are seemingly more opportunities for those interested in societies and events.
Both campuses have student bodies mainly dominated by their respective locations, with Grenfell being mostly West Coast Newfoundlanders and St. John’s East Coast. People can gravitate towards familiarity, making it more difficult to break into new groups on either campus.
While there are some barriers, students can find community at either campus.
