Clubs to Restart Major Activities

By Tucker Gibbs and Amy Lum

After instructions from the Student Activities Office to cease major activities, clubs adapted their practices significantly to accomodate a digital spring term and the strenuous circumstances some students face during the coronavirus outbreak. On April 7, Director of Student Activities Joanne Lembo lifted the pause in club activities. However, she reiterated, club activities should still shift their focus from commitment to “making connections,” according to an email sent to student club leadership. 

To adapt to this alteration in focus and scope, clubs have found new ways to engage their members, including virtual competitions and club meetings. Leadership turnovers for the next school year have also been modified to include all students. 

Students’ stress levels during this uncertain time is a top priority. “We are defining this as a way to keep students connected without creating extra stressors or obligations,” Lembo wrote. 

A major facet of spring term operation for clubs will be the selection of leadership for the upcoming academic year. While some clubs determined the leadership prior to spring break, others are still expected to occur in the next weeks. “We are most likely going to extend the application period because of the situation,” senior and Exeter Computing Club (ECC) co-head Orion Bloomfield said. “Every year, our turnover application revolves around submitting some sort of design project to the board as supplementary to the application, and we feel the extra time could be used to make the design work more impactful, fun and less of a last-weekend stressor as it usually has been.” 

For dance clubs such as Beat of Asia (BoA), the restrictions have hindered the turnover process significantly. Usually, turnovers involve several steps. “As a BoA co-head, one of the biggest things you do is like learn [choreography] and then teach it to the rest of the group. So we wanted to see how people taught,” senior and BoA co-head Annabel Lee said. 

Instead, the club leadership decided to make the practical part of the application optional due to equity among students. “If you can't do it, it is by no means detrimental to your co-head application,” Lee said.

Student Council has taken a different path from other clubs. Usually, elections for dorm and class representatives would take place this spring, but due to distance learning, both the 2019-20 and the 2020-21 boards have decided to postpone the elections until students return in the fall. “Pressure to get work done for a club right now can exacerbate an already stressful situation for many students,” StuCo adviser and Dean of Academic Affairs Laura Marshall wrote to all students. “For this same reason, we believe any Student Council elections should be halted until our return to campus. Additionally, official Student Council board turnovers have been held off.”

According to upper and Student Council Co-President Charlotte Lisa, “Running elections would require members of the elections committee to organize an online election and facilitate the elections themselves. This would be an immense undertaking, as StuCo has never run an online election before, and we did not want to force it upon our Elections Committee,” she said.  

Online campaigning was also a major concern. “Our greatest fear was that, due to the different levels of access students have to time, energy and the internet, the campaigning process would be incredibly inequitable and preferential to those with ample access, resulting in a dishonest election,” Lisa said.

For most clubs, students have turned to Zoom meetings to connect with other members. Though these meetings are completely optional, upper and Daniel Webster Debate Society board member Hassane Fiteni believed this time could be used to connect with other Exonians. “The plan is to continue to have a space and community to foster close bonds while also giving passionate Exonians an outlet to enrich themselves and continue to do what they love,” Fiteni said. 

Senior and Go Club co-head Tony Xiao emphasized the stress-free aspect of this term. “During our meetings, we could play some Go, do some Go puzzles, or simply chat with each other through Zoom. All the meetings are very casual, and by no means should anyone feel pressured to attend,” he said.

Upper and Model United Nations (MUN) President Phil Horrigan shared a similar goal. “The MUN Club is centered around a fierce competition, but that is not all we do. We learn, improve ourselves and build friendships. So while we might not be able to compete, we can still do all those other things to the best of our ability,” he said.

Though Chinese Student Organization (CSO) has also been trying to meet up via Zoom, there have been some difficulties. “Normally CSO would meet during dinner time, because our meetings would be more casual when we’re eating dinner. Now that we have to move online, everything has become much harder,” CSO co-head Xiao said. “It’s difficult to open a conversation when we’re not in person.”

Over Zoom, activities like dance pose unique challenges. “A lot of the reason I love BoA so much is because of our crackhead energy. During water breaks, we're running around the room and [going] over old dances and making jokes,” Lee said. “But over Zoom, if you want to hear the audio, everyone has to mute themselves. So it's dead silent except for the person who's teaching.”

Especially for clubs like Precision, Lee noted that it is almost impossible to learn a step because everyone has to be in sync in terms of sound.

Time zones have also made it hard for clubs to find a good time to meet, leaving some clubs heads to seek asynchronous meeting activities. “A lot of Exeter Investment Society activities will be with our Marketwatch investment simulators (using fake money) [which] members can work on at their own time,” co-head and prep Aaron Joy said. “[In a club group chat,] members can talk about their successes/failures in the simulator or anything else that they find interesting during this time.”

Fiteni noted the effectiveness of mentorship groups, in which debaters can reach out to experienced members of the club via Zoom, FaceTime or text. “I’m especially happy that we have successfully implemented these mentorship groups, as it keeps kids interacting with their peers and friends,” he said. “[It’s something that] can’t be overlooked when people may be stuck at home and long for the relationships they have built at Exeter.”

Despite the new challenges a digital spring term posed, Fiteni looked forward to the club’s upcoming activities. “My biggest hope is that our whole team is healthy and safe first and foremost, but also, anyone that is interested in practicing or refining their skills has the opportunity to do so in a low pressure environment.”