As module one ends, clubs organize and meet for the new school year. Undoubtedly, the outbreak of COVID-19 and online classes have affected the traditional club meetings and activities. However, ambitious club leaders are using this year as an opportunity to extend their impact building community and friendship, especially for new students.
The annual Webb Club Fair, just like any other Webb tradition this year, had been modified to fit Webb’s remote learning. Instead of a large gathering in the library, where club leaders bring posters and food to recruit newbies, the Club Fair took place online. In mid-September of 2020, Ken Rosenfeld, Dean of Campus Life, established a Club Webb-site. The Webb-site contains a list of returning clubs with links to their very own page, containing their mission statement, a club logo, a short intro video, and a live sign-up form.
“We tried to provide all the same information we would have received were we in-person, in the quad, during a live club fair,” said Mr. Rosenfeld. “I hope Webbies are as excited as I am about the new role clubs will play in the coming year and understand how this elevated responsibility requires a couple restrictions to keep everyone healthy, relaxed, and balanced throughout 2020-21 year.”
Many returning clubs, including the Environmental Club, needed to change the focus of their efforts, which used to be hands-on social activities like hosting campus cleanups and meeting with the administration to talk about Webb’s sustainability efforts. Instead, this year, they decided to focus more on hosting educational meetings over virtual platforms and activities amidst the pandemic.
“I think that we’re just interested in engaging more right now with the educational side of the Environmental Club,” said Jenna Hawkes (‘21), Co-President of the Environmental Club. “Also, we aim to encourage students to engage in environmental and social activism in local ways that are safe for them right now.”
“Personally, I had to stop being vegetarian for about six months for health reasons because of COVID-19, and that’s like a popular thing going on right now,” said Jenna. “People are making many sacrifices, and I want the main goal of the Environmental Club to be making sure that people continue to feel like they are part of something larger than them right now.”
Similarly, the Multiculturalism Awareness and Pluralism (MAP) Club has also been quite active in their activities. This year, they have hosted multiple events in the past month in collaboration with Latinx Culture Club and Gender/Sexuality Alliance Club.
“The MAP club is really excited to explore the possibilities of being virtual, at least for the first half of the year, and how we can use this medium to educate and advocate,” said Angeline Zhang (‘21), President of the MAP Club. “We hope that posting week-long events to Instagram this year would help make information a lot more accessible to Webb students. The MAP Club believes that in order to make having difficult conversations productive, all those who want to take part in the discourse should have access to the facts so that they could form an educated opinion.”
“Running this club online is definitely more work on the computer than it would have been in person,” said Alice Phung (‘21), Vice-President of the MAP Club. “It is also harder to connect with people and start conversations online, but it is also beneficial because we have more time to research and create posts.”
Despite the various changes club leaders had to make and get used to, they are undoubtedly taking a more pivotal role in fostering the sense of community at Webb. Many more exciting events hosted by club leaders are coming up in the next module, so make sure to stay tuned and check your emails for any news.
