By Jenna Shelton
jshelton@lc.edu
Since Lewis and Clark Community College switched to distance learning while following the order to stay home, Student Activities have had to get creative to try to keep students engaged. As Student Activities President, I have tried to come up with activities, contests and events to keep the students active and occupied and in contact with each other. Some have been great hits, like the Epic Pet Contest held on our Facebook page, while others have not had much involvement at all.
We have hosted a weekly movie night every Friday night on Netflix Party, an extension on Google Chrome, that allows people to chat while watching their selected program at the same time. As a group we have now watched Murder Mystery, Polaroid, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Carrie, and the newly released interactive special of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Vs The Reverand. While participation each Friday varied each week, those that were online enjoyed themselves immensely. L&C student Elise Gremli said, “It was so much fun, even on nights when there weren’t many people there. I really liked Murder Mystery too.”.
On the L&C Student Activities facebook page , contests and games were created every week for students to play and try to win gift cards that could be mailed to their homes. Included were games and activities that could be posted online or played live on Zoom, such as Bingo, Jeopardy, Family Feud, Uno, and a scavenger hunt that newly elected Student Government Association Secretary, Milli Carter created. Carter said, “We had came up with an idea to do a scavenger hunt during SpringFest and have students go from table to table solving clues, but with it being canceled due to Covid-19, we wanted to make sure students still got an opportunity to have a scavenger hunt.”
In addition to the every Monday Zoom Chat, where students could interact and discuss whatever was important to them, Student Activities also hosted special Zoom events like the Scary Stories night that was hosted on April 25, at 11 p. m., select students, staff and faculty got together to read some favorite scary stories over Zoom. Students, staff, and faculty also gathered on Zoom for an open mic night, “Just Speak It”, on May 13 at 8 pm where they could ‘speak’ or sing their favorite songs, poems, quotes, or even their own work to others. Instructors Elizabeth Grant and Margie Sinclair Parish laid down some sick beats, turning Dr. Seuss’s book “Oh, The Places You’ll Go” into a rap song. Both nights were more successful than some of the other virtual activities, with multiple people exclaiming how much fun these events were.
There was even an End of the Semester, Prom themed weekend in which the original prom-themed horror film Carrie was shown on Friday night and on Saturday night, May 9, DJ MiKeith from Z107.7, 100.3 The Beat, and the St. Louis Blues DJ was spinning for a virtual party on Zoom. Like most of the other events, gift cards were sent for door prizes for random attendees of the party.
Although we say goodbye to the Spring Semester of 2020, with all the struggles and changes we have persevered through, I discovered how important it is to maintain contact with others. As Student Activities President, I intend to make sure that students are aware of the activities that we host and try to keep everyone connected so that no matter how long we are in a distance learning situation we will continue to be TrailBlazers together. With permission from our wonderful advisors, Student Activities will for the first time ever continue with contests, fun and activities on their Facebook page through the summer of 2020! There will not be as many during summer but we would like to make sure that we keep active with our students. Make sure to like and follow L&C’s Student Activities Facebook page to keep up-to-date on all the great opportunities offered.
For more information on L&C’s Student Activities contact Jared Hennings or Jenna Shelton.
