Green River Clubs Cope With COVID-19

Green River College’s clubs have had to adapt to virtual meetings and reduced participants amidst campus closures.

The clubs have greatly changed how they operate due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and this has produced results some see as both beneficial and detrimental.

Nan Huang, president of the environmental club, said in an e-mail that the biggest change has been that her club has held all meetings online.

She also said remote learning has pushed her club to create its  own website. She said the website will be a platform where students can post their own blogs, and she believes it will be a good way to raise environmental awareness.

Huang, who joined the club in winter of 2019, said the biggest challenge for her club is the reduced number of students participating.

“It seems like people think online club is a little bit boring because we cannot do a lot…”

        Huang said that in previous years the club could expect 12 or more participants, but now she sees five or less.

Collin Veenstra, manager for student activities and programs at the college, said in an email that they see some positives in virtual meetings.

“I think a huge benefit of virtual-only student groups is that this allows students to better connect and get involved.”

Veenstra, who has been working with students at the college for nearly two years, adds:

        “I also think that the ability to log-in to a meeting and choose how actively you want to participate has some additional layers for folks in a virtual space.”

Veenstra said there are also disadvantages to operating student clubs right now.

“…I think (the lack of) in-person connection is a huge one…For many, that in-person space is really key… another big disadvantage is that we just don’t have as many clubs operating this year…”

By mid-fall of last year there were about 40 active clubs, as of this year there are 20. Veenstra hopes that more clubs will join in the upcoming weeks.

Students can stay up to date on what is happening with clubs by visiting @grcclubs on Instagram.