By Isabelle Schindler
Zoom has become the new form of community building for Dominican University. Scrolling through EngageDU there are tons of activities targeted for both resident and commuter students here at DU. One thing that’s changed is the meeting point of these activities. Obviously, with COVID being an unwanted presence in all our lives, we’ve had to come up with new ways of coping during this time. Thanks to many campus organizations, we can do that.
Meagan Mitchell, assistant dean of students and director of Student Life, had many positive things to say about the way the students are handling things and the way clubs and organizations are handling it. “Our goal is to be able to sustain a healthy level of student engagement and to offer students the opportunity to participate in various programs that challenge perspective, provide space to be social and to critical think about important issues,” said Mitchell.
I recently attended an event hosted by Student Life on EngageDU. It was a trivia event through Zoom and an outside website. There were about 15 students who attended the event. I found it to be really effective. I didn’t experience any technical difficulties and I actually got to talk to a few people on the topic we all had interest in. Seeing it firsthand, I think these organizations are doing a great job at keeping students involved and building a community between the students during this time and even in the future.
Henry Ptack, president of the Campus Activities Board, noted the positives of moving things online: “The added option to use the online medium more can help clubs both possibly increase attendance and cut costs. The prior relates to all students but especially commuters, of which Dominican has a lot. The latter means hosting more events or spending the budget elsewhere such as prizes. It also makes it easier to schedule as no physical space needs to be requested.”
This option of student engagement being mostly online has many benefits that go beyond the health and safety of Dominican students; it gives both commuter and resident students the opportunity to get to know each other and be involved with school-run activities that they wouldn’t have been able to otherwise.
“We also understand that students may need a break from virtual engagement, especially those whose classes are all online,” says Mitchell. This may explain the small percentage of events that take place in person on campus. For example the pumpkin carving activity held by Resident Students Association and the in-person movie showing held by CAB (Campus Activities Board).
There are still many events taking place this semester by many different campus clubs and organizations. You can find the listings on EngageDU by logging in using your school information. These events involve:
- Trivia Tuesday, Halloween: Tuesday Oct. 27 at 8 p.m. held by Student Life via Zoom
- Poster Designing for Walk of Solidarity: Wednesday Oct. 28 at 1 p.m. at The Center for Cultural Liberation
- The Witching Hour Drag Show: Wednesday Oct. 28 at 7:30 p.m. held by Common Ground in the Lund Auditorium
- First in the Family Halloween Costume Contest: Friday Oct. 30 at 2 p.m. via Zoom
- Trivia Tuesday, Star Wars: Tuesday Nov. 10 at 8 p.m. held by Student Life via Zoom
