COMMUNITY

The MARLIN CHRONICLE

Editor-in-Chief

Alex Powers ampowers@vwu.edu

Managing Editor

Nicholas Mundy namundy@vwu.edu

News Editor

Connor Merk ccmerk@vwu.edu

Community Editor

Lauren Faulkner lafaulkner@vwu.edu

Sports Editor

Nicholas Mundy namundy@vwu.edu

Weekender Editors

Valery Caraballo vecaraballo@vwu.edu

Faith Macwana fpmacwana@vwu.edu

Photo Editors

Erin Highsmith eehighsmith@vwu.edu

Layne Nooner lnnooner@vwu.edu

Illustrations Editors

Emily Uzzle ebuzzle@vwu.edu

Kathleen Vanden Berg kjvandenberg@vwu.edu

Online Editor

Ash Dobrenen akdobrenen@vwu.edu

Copy Editor

Tara Truax tmtruax@vwu.edu

Advertising Manager

Alyssa Lane amlane@vwu.edu

Adviser

Dr. Lisa Lyon Payne lpayne@vwu.edu

The Marlin Chronicle is the official student newspaper of Virginia Wesleyan University. Staff meetings are held every Tuesday at 5:40 p.m. in Batten 217. Signed submissions are welcome, but subject to the discretion of the editor. Letters are not edited for content, but may be edited for length and mechanics. The views and opinions expressed in this newspaper may not necessarily reflect the views of the entire staff of The Marlin Chronicle or Virginia Wesleyan University.

The Marlin Chronicle Virginia Wesleyan University 5817 Wesleyan Drive Virginia Beach, VA 23455 757.455.3311

Student Involvement amid COVID-19

BY LAUREN FAULKNER lafaulkner@vwu.edu Community Editor

COVID-19 regulations have affected every aspect of Virginia Weselyan’s campus life. However students can still get involved with student clubs, activities and events. Clubs, sororities and fraternities are still meeting, just in different ways, while Off the Hook continues to host different socially distant events.

Clubs and Organizations

Even with COVID-19 regulations, clubs and organizations can still meet in a variety of ways. The three choices for meetings include in-person, socially distanced events on a first-come, firstserve basis, a hybrid event with both in-person and virtual components and completely virtual events.

Clubs, like any year, must register in order to be active. Once they have registered with Student Activities, the student leaders are trained on the COVID-19 expectations in order to comply with the university’s policy. Clubs and organizations can request rooms for events, however, this must be done two weeks in advance.

By requiring clubs to plan in advance and taking into account

Events and Activities Off the Hook is an organization of students who plan events for the Student Activities office on campus. The organization consists of Event Supervisors, whose job just got a lot more difficult this semester. With social distancing regulations, Off the Hook continues to plan events for student involvement that comply with the university’s policy. Examples of events that comply include virtual events with comedians and other performers, virtual game shows with prizes and even some in-person and hybrid activities. Off the Hook and the Student Activities office are also responsible for many traditions such as Mud Games and AirBand.

These specific events are an annual parts of campus life at Virginia Wesleyan. In an interview with Sarah Guzzo, head of Stu

Greek Life Virginia Wesleyan is home to nine different fraternities and sororities on campus. Greek Life has been a part of Virginia Wesleyan’s campus life since 1963 and has become a major tradition for students. Greek Life was also affected greatly by COVID-19 regulations, however events are still happening and will simply be a bit different this year. In the next few weeks, students will be able to take part in recruitment events from all the different fraternities and sororities.

Events that have already occurred include a virtual Disney Trivia

Night hosted by Phi Sigma Sigma,and a Jack Box Party Night hosted by Sigma Nu. Recruitment and Rush Week events are going to be different and possibly delayed as new requirements are introduced in order

At the beginning of this school year, Virginia Wesleyan students were introduced to the Work and Learn Program. On-campus jobs were sorted into four sections: Federal Work Study, Campus Cooperative, Opus and Residential Leadership.

Jason Seward, associate vice president for Campus Life and Operational Management, explained that although this program was introduced during this difficult semester, COVID-19 did not impact the decision to change the program. Seward described the new program as a complete “rebrand” of the previous program, and that it will be here to stay.

During this interview, Seward also talked about a potential fifth pillar that might come to the program, Community Cooperatives, which would work with local businesses and organizations employing Virginia Wesleyan Students.

Unlike the previous program, Campus Cooperative positions are no longer paid in a bi-weekly check of $7.25 an hour, but are instead given a $2,500 tuition grant to use for their financial needs. The goal of this program was to “make higher education more affordable,” Seward said. He also informally gathered through personal conversations with students that “they worked on campus to make their education more affordable and needed money to go towards tuition,” however, this has not been supported by any quantitative data.

In this new program, students are required to work 10 hours a the university’s COVID-19 policy, organizations are taking more precautions and preaching safety standards.

Students can get involved in clubs and organizations by checking the Campus Events Calendar. Students can find active clubs soon on the Student Activities page on the Virginia Wesleyan website. Other ways to get involved is to check social media, inperson flyers and the This Week @ VWU email from the Student Activities office.

When getting involved with clubs, pay close attention to student leader contact information and information about how the

club will be meeting. dent Activities on campus, she explained that these events will happen, but they will be different this year. The events will be “modified but alive,” Guzzo said.

Elaine Robbins, an event supervisor for Off The Hook, stated that planning events “is harder because you have to plan for event capacity, masks and social distancing.” Even though COVID-19 policies give the Off the Hook team much more to think about, they keep producing events for students to get involved in.

To get involved in Off the Hook’s events, students should check flyers posted around campus and the weekly This Week @ VWU email from the Student Activities office. Students can also

check the Student Activities Calendar. to comply with COVID-19 policies. Like any club or organization, student leaders are required to go through training and plan further in advance than normal.

“Events are slightly harder to do, but in saying that, we are working around the rules to make sure no one gets in trouble and we can still make an impact on campus,” Andrew Taylor, president of the Interfraternity Council, said.

To get involved in Greek Life, students should check their emails, the student activities calendar, flyers and posters around campus and most importantly, social media. Every single sorority and fraternity on campus has an Instagram page that students can

New Work and Learn Program Launches BY LAUREN FAULKNER lafaulkner@vwu.edu Community Editor

follow to stay informed about upcoming events. week, as it allows students to earn a reasonable amount while also not overwhelming their schedules. With this addition to the program, Seward hoped that students would not overextend their schedules, and could possibly search for other off-campus opportunities.

Even though the program’s jobs average at about 10 hours a week, other positions such as Enrollment and Batten Supervisors work more than this. Those who work more than 10 hours, are expected to then take less hours in other weeks. Other positions might work less than 10 hours, which is then reflected in their compensation.

The new program also helps to eliminate “double-dipping,” where students could hold multiple jobs across campus. By removing this practice, more jobs are available to all students across campus. According to the Campus Life office, approximately 40% of Virginia Wesleyan’s traditional undergraduate students work on-campus, in some capacity, through the Work and Learn program.

“We want students to find the right fit … we want students who are dedicated and committed to the responsibility that an on-campus job requires,” Seward said.

The goal of the Work and Learn program is to provide students with a meaningful on-campus work experience, while also offering students flexibility in their hours and pay. So far, the Work and Learn program has been met with “great positivity” according to Seward.

“As a former collegiate student newspaper editor, professional journalist and long-time advisor for the Society of Collegiate Journalists, I understand the role and value of student media at a liberal arts institution. Virginia Wesleyan University proudly supports the editorial independence and press freedom of student-edited publications. We believe that student editors have the authority to make all content decisions and consequently, assume full responsibility for decisions they make.” --Scott D. Miller, Ph.D President

Marlin Orientation welcomes students back to campus BY PHOEBE COX pecox@vwu.edu Staff Writer

This year presented a variety of new challenges in regards to freshman move-in due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was different from last year in that there were two separate move-in days on Thursday, Aug. 20 and Friday, Aug. 21, with two separate two-hour time blocks that students had to sign up for. The blocks were spaced out in order to minimize the amount of interactions families had.

Prior to move-in, all students had to submit a negative COVID-19 test in order to come onto campus, and upon arrival, students and their two helpers had their temperatures taken. Buildings had designated entrances and exits to prevent different move-in groups from crossing each other.

David Stuebing, Director of Residence Life, talked about how “all of this was to minimize any opportunity for transmission should someone have the virus and not know it.” He discussed how this was a small part of the larger Return to Campus Plan, which was formed in collaboration with Campus Security, the Emergency Response Team (ERT) and Residence Life.

Stuebing went on to say that “careful thought was put into how we could mitigate any identified areas of risk.” He mentioned that as a result of this careful planning, families felt comfortable and at ease with the move-in.

The instituted protocol made it very clear that safety was a top priority and as such should continue to be taken very seriously by all people on campus.

The orientation experience for incoming students was exciting in its own unique way. Virginia Wesleyan’s activities council, Off the Hook, hosted a variety of fun and engaging events for the incoming freshmen. In addition to a movie night, laser tag and an online trivia night with monetary prizes, there were opportunities for students to build their own stuffed animal and plant their own mini bamboo or succulent.

Elaine Robbins, one of the six Off the Hook event supervisors, explained, “as an Off the Hook employee, I enjoyed planning and putting on the programs throughout orientation because I think that the activities are a meaningful part of freshman orientation.” Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were obviously some restrictions on what was allowed to Dorothy Yanku-Palmer | Marlin Chronicle Students relax on the lawn in front of the Boyd Dining Center while socially distant during Marlin Orientation.

happen and what was not allowed to happen. Robbins emphasized that social distancing and mask wearing were both required factors that the Off the Hook team took very seriously.

All of the events had capacity limits, and there were social distancing markers at the doors directing students and preventing large clusters. Robbins thinks that “in spite of the coronavirus, we as a campus community at Wesleyan were able to kick off the school year and welcome the freshmen in a positive and hopeful way.”

Freshman Jack Palmer said COVID-19 definitely impacted his experience at orientation, saying,“Obviously it made it more difficult, but I was still able to meet new people and create new friendships and become involved with the campus community. You have to address that it made it more complicated but it’s still been enjoyable.”

Although COVID-19 has created a variety of new challenges, our Wesleyan family was still able to create a positive and friendly atmosphere.

Move-in for the rest of the school happened on Sunday, Aug. 23. There were four two-hour time blocks that students had to register for to prevent large group interactions and minimize exposure between families. Roommates were not allowed to move in at the same time block, and the number of students moving in per floor was limited.

As with the new freshmen students, Stuebing emphasized how safety was a top priority with the regular and transfer students’ move-in as well. Speaking on behalf of Residence Life, he said that “we expect them [the students] to partner with us in protecting each other from exposure to COVID towards our shared goal of in-person instruction for the full fall semester.”

He expressed how grateful the faculty and staff at Virginia Wesleyan were for everybody having largely followed the new rules and regulations thus far. However, complacency will be the school’s worst enemy as people become more comfortable with their Wesleyan home.

Students must ensure that they are all doing their part to protect ourselves and preserve our community despite the drastic changes to our usual fall semester.

Boyd Dining Hall gets a fresh face

BY ROBERT SOLOMON rlsolomon@vwu.edu Staff Writer

The Boyd Dining Hall has become a space for experience and socialization for all students at the university, which is why the University decided it was time to update and modernize the dining hall and the experience within.

The dining hall simply “needed some love,” according to Dr. Keith Moore, vice president for Campus Life and Operational Management at Virginia Wesleyan. Moore also oversaw the dining hall renovation process.

The brand new expansions to the Boyd Dining Hall were graciously funded by Emerita Joan Brock, who also funded another larger project on campus to remodel the front of the Batten Center by the John Wesley statue to create the Brock Commons.

The new project, which is on track to begin construction in the spring of 2021, will be a fun new place for students and faculty alike to socialize and experience what was described as a “third place” in President Miller’s Nota Bene. Students will be able to use this place as an area outside of work and home to socialize with others and experience a place with “brightness and high energy” as Jason Seward, associate vice president for Campus Life, said.

The newly-renovated dining hall has the capacity to hold up to 400 students and faculty at once, which is about 150 more than it could previously hold, according to Tim Lockett, general manager of Sodexo Dining Services. The new open space concept will allow for a better flow of traffic along with more open space so it never feels too small or cramped with the large number of people in there.

Some of the exciting new amenities that can be found are new baked breads and fresh produce at the new-and-improved sandwich station. On top of that, the inhouse executive chef for the dining hall, Pete Stein, has begun to try more dishes that he can bring to the dining hall so that he might offer a little bit of everything for every student’s desires.

Even though the dining experience is what it is currently due to the COVID-19 situation, the plans that are in store for the renovated space and more to come are going to excite the student body. As mentioned in Miller’s Nota Bene email, restrictions have been lifted in Coastal Virginia by Governor Ralph Northam, which means limited seating will soon be offered in the Boyd Dining Center starting on Sept. 14.

Connor Merk | Marlin Chronicle Socially Distanced Tables set up for students in the renovated Boyd Dining Hall.