Online Club Events Provide Socializing While Social Distancing
(Photo Credit: Freepik)
By Kadija Doumbia
“We try to have Zoom calls every week with my members on a group basis,” said Lehman club president of the African & Caribbean Association Anna-Maria Jack, senior anthropology and Earth Science major. “I think these events help students with de-stressing and being connected with one another. Even though it is not an ideal situation, the events at least allow us to stay connected at these times.”
Club life is an important aspect of being a student at Lehman. Based on statistics from the Lehman website, an estimated 2,000 out of 14,787 students belong to a club. Lehman has over 50 student clubs available, based on a range of social, personal hobby, academic and religious interests. Club events were typically held in person for both club members and non-affiliated students to attend. But with Zoom now being the new normal, only a few clubs at Lehman have made the transition to hosting online events. As COVID-19 quarantine continues into its fourth month, online club activities give students the chance to reconnect with others.
The Intervarsity Christian Fellowship Club (CCSD) and the Muslim Student Association (MSA) conduct weekly recurring events, with the CCSD hosting online evening Zumba classes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and the MSA hosting Tuesday evening trivia sessions.
The Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA) have also been conducting weekly events in addition to providing students professional lessons and providing business opportunities.
“We’ve talked about resumes and interview tips,” said 21-year-old grad student Sarah Persaud who is pursuing a master’s degree in accounting. “During the past months we’ve advertised on our social media about main events such as our Live Mock Interview and Budgeting Workshop.”
“My favorite aspect about ALPFA’s virtual club events was that it was easier to access professionals in Fortune 500 companies who could easily attend our events from their living room,” Persaud continued. “Our members gave feedback that the weekly meetings have helped them at the beginning of Quarantine. Our members were happy to be able to see each other and engage in conversations.”
According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, video conferencing is one of the richer forms of telecommunication since it provides a window onto speakers’ environments and facial expressions while reconnecting those separated by different locations or job times.
Nonetheless, most social clubs at Lehman have closed as a result of the spread of COVID-19 reaching New York City. Subsequently, the campus has been closed in an effort to reduce the spread of the virus.
“COVID-19 pretty much ended the nutrition club. We had many things planned for the nutrition club but because of the unexpected virus we had to cancel all of our events,” said 21-year-old senior club president of the Nutrition Club and dietetics, foods, and nutrition major Adrian Henriquez.
With the prospect of distance learning extending into the fall semester, according to CNN, existing clubs at Lehman may now have to make the transition to online hosting if they want to keep their activities going into the next semester and beyond. In the meantime, online socializing and video conferencing continues to be a means of keeping Lehman students together, while they remain apart.
