By now, it is not a secret to anyone that university life is not the same since school transitioned online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is more difficult than ever for students to maintain social connections and stay involved in school clubs. The Phoenix wanted to take this opportunity to check in with UBCO clubs to see how they are handling their operations during the online semester.
While some clubs are doing their best to carry on with events, other clubs are struggling to stay afloat due to declining participation. Take a look at the interviews below to find out more about how UBCO clubs are pushing through this challenging time by trying to bring students together in creative—and mostly virtual—ways.
UBCO Yoga Club
The Phoenix: Can you tell us about your club (i.e. your club’s mission/ what your club does)?
The UBCO Yoga Club aims to bring yoga enthusiasts together on the UBCO campus through free classes, workshops, social events, and meditation groups. We hope to make yoga accessible for everybody on campus as we realize yoga's enormous potential to heal, alleviate stress, and bring about peace and joy within. We appreciate all forms of yoga and encourage UBCO community members of all levels (including absolute beginners) to participate.
How have you had to adjust your club’s operations due to COVID-19 and social distancing?
All of our events have taken place through online platforms such as Instagram Live and Zoom. We have reached out to a lot of other clubs and community members to be able to promote our events.
Have you held any events (either online or in-person) this school year? If so, how did they go?
Yes, we have hosted lots of online classes. During November we have one class a day during the week (Monday-Friday). The classes have been a great success, and we look forward to hosting as many online classes as possible throughout the rest of the school year.
This year we also changed our membership structure and offer a paid membership (between $5-15 depending on what you are able to pay) that gives you access to a Members Online zone on our website. This zone includes pre-recorded yoga classes that you can access and watch whenever you want! Therefore if you are unable to join in on the live classes, or prefer watching videos, we have that option as well.
Have you noticed a difference in online event participation in comparison to when club events were able to be held in person?
Yes, the participation fluctuates more, and we have received feedback that because everything is online it is easier to forget to attend classes. For example, we will have 30 people register for a class and only 10-15 will join in. We still have fairly high numbers for participation but it is not as steady as it was when classes were hosted in person.
UBCO Ice Cream Club
The Phoenix: Can you tell us about your club (i.e. your club’s mission/ what your club does)?
The Ice Cream Club is all about improving the student experience with ice cream.
How have you had to adjust your club’s operations due to COVID-19 and social distancing?
As we are a food-based club we've had to completely change how we hold events for our members.
Have you held any events (either online or in-person) this school year? If so, how did they go?
We've held two events so far, one was a trivia night and the other was the Science of Ice Cream with Dr. Tamara! The events are definitely smaller than our usual ice cream events but the two events that we’ve held so far generally went over well.
Have you noticed a difference in online event participation in comparison to when club events were able to be held in person?
There are definitely fewer people attending online events (usually ~35) compared to our free ice cream days that we held on campus in the past (usually ~500-1000 people attend).
UBCO Mental Health Awareness and Advocacy Club
The Phoenix: Can you tell us about your club (i.e., your club's mission/ what your club does)?
UBCO’s MHAAC (Mental Health Awareness and Advocacy Club) is a club run by psychology graduate students at UBCO. The aim of our club is to increase mental health awareness in our community and to provide resources to students. We've taken part in community workshops, mental health awareness campaigns, and held events where guest speakers spoke on various topics that pertain to mental health.
How have you had to adjust your club's operations due to COVID-19 and social distancing?
We are 100% virtual! All of our meetings and club communication has been over Zoom and WhatsApp. We also intend to continue promoting mental health awareness and providing information about resources that have transitioned to virtual services. For example, one resource we always try to make people aware of is the Walk-in Wellness Clinic, which is running virtually right now. The Walk-in Wellness Clinic offers FREE brief counseling appointments to anyone in the greater Okanagan and it currently operates Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:00 - 4:00 pm. You can find more information about the Walk-in Wellness Clinic by clicking here.
We're also really focusing on our social media presence, both for our advocacy work and to stay connected.
You can follow us here:
Instagram: @mhaac.ubco
Twitter: @MHAAC_UBCO
Facebook: @MHAAC.UBCO
Have you held any events (either online or in-person) this school year? If so, how did they go? Have you noticed a difference in participation in comparison to when club events were able to be held in person?
We've hosted a social event to enhance connection, a workshop on mental health in our online environment, and a body love yoga class, all on Zoom! We're really happy with how our events have been going this year! Everyone seems to be patient and understanding while we navigate the shift and those inevitable technological difficulties.
I would say that attendance at our events has been lower than in previous years but I know that a lot of us can experience Zoom fatigue and need to spend some time away from our computers. We'd encourage everyone to make the choices that they need, whether it's to engage online or take some time off.
UBCO’s Horror Movie Club
The Phoenix: Can you tell us about your club (i.e. your club’s mission/ what your club does)?
We are the UBCO Horror Movie Club and we were established in 2014. We host horror movie nights bi-weekly every other Friday in the UNC Theater. We let our members decide the genre and the films they want to watch. The main goal of our club is for people with similar interests to be able to interact and meet one another and for our events to be a place where people can unwind after a long week of school work. We also host Halloween events which are our biggest events; we host trivia nights, movie marathons, and contests for our members to participate in and feel indulged.
How have you had to adjust your club’s operations due to COVID-19 and social distancing?
As a club, we did feel a little overwhelmed with the new online environment but we have managed to keep our members entertained during COVID times with precautions. We do have a very avid following and all our members have been of great support to us. We transitioned to Zoom Movie Nights, hosted every other Friday and we have set up a monthly genre system, where we screen different films from that singular genre for the whole month.
Have you held any events (either online or in-person) this school year? If so, how did they go?
So far we have held 5-6 movie nights over Zoom and we have had a decent turn out each time. We also hosted our annual Halloween Weekend events online, with asynchronous costume contests and Zoom Trivia Nights and Ghost Storytelling Night. Our members have been very receptive and we also have some regular members who always show up for all our events. Therefore, we hope to have kept our club running successfully, even during such difficult times.
Have you noticed a difference in online event participation in comparison to when club events were able to be held in person?
Yes, we have noticed some differences as our usual turnout is much larger than the one we get online; however, it has been fun either way. We used to provide pizza and pop at our events for people who would join us. However, now we try to keep our members engaged by dwelling into discussions and talks after the movie screening is done. We do miss hosting our usual in-person events, but for the safety of our members and even for us, our current arrangement with Zoom Movie Nights continues to help us reach out to more and more students.
UBCO African Caribbean Student Club
The Phoenix: Can you tell us about your club (i.e. your club’s mission/ what your club does)?
Our chief objective is to create a space for the celebration of African and Caribbean culture on campus. This mission is underpinned by a philosophy of inclusivity that recognises ethnic diversity as a means of bringing people from different backgrounds into space of common humanity and shared joy.
How have you had to adjust your club’s operations due to COVID-19 and social distancing?
The challenges presented by the pandemic have definitely led us to reconsider our strategies to accomplish our goals. We have had to become more resourceful in our marketing of events and in our usage of social media to reach people, assess interest, and adapt to working remotely with members of the executive.
Have you held any events (either online or in-person) this school year? If so, how did they go?
We have had a number of online events throughout the school year and even before. They have generally enjoyed good levels of attendance. For example, one of our recent events was a book club online discussion around issues of policing blackness in Canada that garnered great participation and riveting conversation from our members.
Have you noticed a difference in online event participation in comparison to when club events were able to be held in person?
There has been a noticeable decline in event attendance generally speaking compared to in-person events.These roadblocks have prompted us to think more critically about creating opportunities about how to build an online ACSC experience that is even more interactive. We hope that some of our upcoming online events, that aim to cultivate a greater sense of community in spite of the distances we all have to live with, will inspire greater participation!
It is no surprise that a majority of UBCO’s clubs have had to drastically transition the way they operate during the pandemic. It is a particularly challenging transition since club events, naturally, rely on in-person participation and attendance. This is especially true for food-based clubs such as the Ice Cream Club. However, COVID-19 has not stopped UBCO clubs from using technology such as Zoom in creative ways in order to have fun, engage with students, and keep their clubs afloat during these challenging times.
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