As Welcome Week activities begin to wind down, there are still a few opportunities for students to get involved and learn more about campus communities. On Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m., multicultural groups on campus will take part in the Virtual Involvement Fair via Zoom that has been ongoing since the start of classes.
Some participating are the Black Affairs Association, the Chinese Student Scholarship Association, the ETSU Gospel Choir and International Choir, the Hispanic American Student Community Alliance, the International Student Association, the Japanese Culture Society, the Middle Eastern Student Association and the Multicultural Organization for Pre-Health Students. Director of Multicultural Center.
Carshonda Martin described this virtual event as being important to students, especially given the pandemic.
“This will be a way for not only students on campus, but many of the students that are still home to be involved,” said Martin. “We are trying to ensure that we have engagement opportunities for all of our students. For underrepresented students, we want to ensure that you get connected with your choice of interest groups and find a family and a community that you can find support in.”
According to Martin, students will be given the chance to talk to organization members, program coordinators and graduate assistants directly, as well as ask questions and gather multicultural and diversity resources. She mentioned that students will also be given the chance to have drop-in sessions at the Mary V. Jordan Multicultural Center on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays as a further way to reach students.
The ability to connect with students has been something Carter Warden, director of ETSU’s Student Activities And Organizations, has found hardest to navigate during this transitional time of online activity. Warden explained that Welcome Week looks much different this year compared to how he had planned them in the past.
“We actually went through three different plans because of the meeting requirements change,” Warden said. “When the numbers on outside meetings decreased to 50 we knew that would not work, so we started looking at the virtual options. We had to adjust quickly with changing regulations, but we felt like it was probably the best option that we had, and it’s better than not having anything at all.”
Warden added that he has personally had to navigate the idea of “Zoom burnout” and discovering the threshold at which students can handle a certain amount of online content. He has found students who are engaged in these activities, though, have more meaningful experiences.
“The participation that you do get is more interactive because you are taking time purposefully,” said Warden. “You can see the person, you can hear them. They can directly interact one on one even if it is not in person. It has been a really weird dynamic that way.”
The Virtual Involvement Fair Zoom meeting featuring multicultural groups from campus starts at 4 p.m. Participants will be given the opportunity to be entered to win giveaway prizes like ring lights, speakers, tablets and headphones. For more information visit etsu.edu/students/sao/welcomeweek.php.
