A Rush For Clubs During the Pandemic

Involvement at a university is one of the best ways to advance your development on all levels, and UVU provides a wide variety of clubs to get involved with. However, it is well known that events will be held differently this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Andrea Betts, the club coordinator at UVU, talked about the different ways that the campus clubs will help keep students engaged. She stated that the preferred method of engagement is virtual, although clubs can meet in person if they are willing to abide by the CDC guidelines. They also created kits for each of the clubs to help maintain the rules. 

“We have COVID kits that include hand sanitizer, wipes and masks,” explained Betts. “For those that are high risk, we have asked that the clubs have a virtual option available if they chose to do an in-person event.” 

UVU has shown their care for inclusiveness, especially during such difficult times. 

“UVU faculty has been a great example of how we can adapt to these strange times,” said Betts “We have incorporated the way they run presentations and ask questions virtually into the way we are running our meetings and events.” 

It has been important to learn from others, and getting involved in the time of a pandemic can allow for many learning experiences. 

As the clubs have been adapting, they were able to hold their first club presidents retreat. It was done both virtually and in-person. There were about thirty attendees total, splitting them between being virtual and in-person. 

“We feel like it was really successful,” said Betts. 

The club’s office has started using different technologies to make virtual events easier. One of the devices they are using is called a Meeting Owl. The Owl is a smart video conferencing camera that picks up on the voice of the person speaking to highlight and shift the focus to them. This device allows the clubs office to hold more effective meetings. 

The next event for clubs will be Club Rush, which will also take place virtually. Betts described it as an event with 30-40 second videos that the clubs shot themselves to explain their purpose. This will give the students a chance to see what clubs are a good fit for them while social distancing. 

“If students don’t see a club that they are interested in joining, they can create one,” said Betts. 

Betts elaborated on the benefits to creating a club soon. She mentioned that the club’s office has funds available to get clubs started. In order to receive these funds, it is important to meet the deadlines, such as registration and submitting a Club Rush video. The club registration deadline is Sept. 18 and the Club Rush video deadline is Sept. 9. 

It is a different time of year, but as we are learning together it is important to stay involved. To further involve yourself, visit uvu.edu/clubs.