The outbreak of COVID-19 has forced in-person, on-campus events to cancel for the remainder of the 2020 spring semester. The Campus Activities Board (CAB), a leading group in event planning on the NVU-Lyndon campus, is rescheduling several of their plans for the 2020 fall semester, as well as working with different people and groups on both campuses to schedule online programming.
In CAB’s General Board meeting yesterday, March 30, Advisor Michael Secreti announced that musician Evie Joy had been rescheduled for a performance in September. Similarly, the Silent Disco was moved to the Welcome Week of the fall semester. “Animal Adventures,” a group of exotic animals that were scheduled to visit the Lyndon campus during Spring Day, is also being rescheduled for the fall.
CAB has also been working actively with other groups and people across both Northern Vermont University campuses to provide sufficient online programming for students. Secreti said that while CAB doesn’t always host these events, as a student activities group, they are trying to push out advertisements and links to students through CAB’s social media. Students can look forward to emails from Mary Fafard every Monday with lists of events for the week as well as links to join them through Zoom, Discord, and other servers. Online events have so far included Pause with Paws, a Zoom call to show off your furry (or non-furry) friends; virtual Bingo; various Netflix watch parties; karaoke; wellness and motivational messages; and so much more.
This week’s events include a “quirky” series of Jackbox’s Quiplash games tonight, March 31, at 8:00 PM on Zoom. Tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 PM, the Wellness Center will be hosting a Zoom meeting to give students tips on how to face COVID-19. Tomorrow night, the NVU-Lyndon SGA will be hosting another Town Hall at 8:00 PM through a Zoom call. Provost Atkins will be looking for feedback on remote instruction in classes on Thursday, April 2. He will be in an open Zoom call starting at 11:30 AM. Shortly after, at noon, there will be an E-tramural tournament in Rocket League. Any gamers are encouraged to join the NVU Discord server to play along and chat. Finally, Thursday evening will be sported with a series of Kahoot games with prizes for the winners starting at 8:00 PM.
This week is also NVU Spirit Week. The NVU Spirit Squad is asking students, faculty, staff, and community members of both campuses to celebrate their NVU pride by dressing up and posting pictures on social media under the hashtag #NVUSpiritWeek. The dress-up days are as follows for the remainder of the week:
Tuesday, March 31: Favorite Movie/TV Character
Wednesday, April 1: Well-Dressed Wednesday
Thursday, April 2: Pajama Day
Friday, April 3: Tie-Dye Day
The NVU-Lyndon Outing Club and NVU-Lyndon Ski and Ride Club have also partnered to host a week-long photo contest on Instagram. Students are encouraged to post pictures of themselves on an “outdoor adventure” to fill social media feeds with positivity, fun, and nature. Winners will be chosen daily and featured on the clubs’ official Instagrams. Posts must tag either @nvuoutingclub, @nvu_lyndonskiandride, or @northernvermont and use the hashtag #HowIGetOutdoors to be eligible.
Clubs looking to host virtual events should be in contact with Mary Fafard. Students with ideas for events are encouraged to attend CAB General Board meetings on Zoom to get their feedback heard. CAB meetings will continue to occur weekly on Mondays at 5:30 PM at this Zoom link. Anyone is welcome to join to have a say in the online programming and get the first scoop on what to expect next.