involvement fall 2020
published by The Auburn Plainsman
GRACE CLEMMER | PHOTOGRAPHER
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The Auburn Plainsman: Involvement 2020
October 1, 2020
MEGAN TURBYFILL | PHOTOGRAPHER
The Haley Concourse sees less traffic and promotion of campus clubs during COVID-19 pandemic on Aug. 27, 2020, in Auburn, Ala.
SIDE EFFECTS MAY INCLUDE:
isolation, stress and frustration, among others How the COVID-19 pandemic has affected student involvement on Auburn’s campus By COLLINS KEITH Assistant Section Editor
The novel coronavirus at its face value is a highly contagious disease that has swept through the country. It’s more than that, though. Just as the physical symptoms of the virus affect everyone in different ways, so too do the side effects of our response: isolation, stress and frustration. For Melissa Gilpin, sophomore in animal sciences, quarantine and online classes have made it much harder to get involved this year than in the past. In her first year at Auburn, she was involved with the Pre-Veterinary Medical Association and the Marine Biology Club. “With those clubs we went to the University of Florida to go check out the
vet school, we did that for like a whole weekend trip,” Gilpin said. “We were doing adoption events to get with the Lee County Humane Society, and before every meeting we’d come in and have social time, and it’s like with everything this semester, none of that’s happening.” For Gilpin, almost everything is hard to plan, and it leaves people like her disconnected from the groups she was a part of in the past. Gilpin hasn’t heard much from her clubs this semester and isn’t even sure if they will meet at all. “We haven’t even had our first meeting yet, so I actually have no idea … but at least for the stuff the school has been doing, I have been cautious and [I’m] not going for the most part,” Gilpin said. “I mean, as far as the clubs, if they had stuff, it depends on what it was. I might go.
They haven’t said anything about activities or in-person things.” Gilpin said she feels lucky to have made friendships in years past and credits those friendships in helping her deal with the mental effects of quarantine. “I definitely feel like [mental health] is a little bit of an issue for certain people,” Gilpin said. “I feel fortunate enough to already know a few people that I’m comfortable with. I don’t have to go out with a group of 20 people to be happy; as long as I have a small group of friends that I know and trust, I’m good. I can see how that’s an issue for a lot of people, especially if you don’t know anyone. If you only have online classes or only one or two classes in person, it’s hard to really get out and be sociable, and having mental health issues definitely makes that
harder.” While Gilpin has two classes that require her to be on campus — the lab component of biology and both the lecture and lab for her animal science class — some students, like Avery Richardson, sophomore in secondary education, have even less. “I have one Monday lab that’s in person, but everything else is online,” Richardson said. “They went straight from being in-person to like, they didn’t even question it, they just said, ‘We’re doing Zoom.’” While most of her classes are on Zoom, they’re all synchronous, which she said allows for some structure in her day. She also has the benefit of living with six of her sorority sisters, but the thing she misses most is Auburn itself.
October 1, 2020
“It’s kinda sad, because I’m literally in love with Auburn … I’m not getting to go on campus and see the red bricks everyday, and it’s kinda making me upset,” Richardson said. “And then when I go on walks, I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is all that I’m missing and I’m getting to be here.’ It’s just upsetting.” Besides the red bricks, Richardson said she also misses the relational component of class; Zoom can only do so much. “I feel like, being an education major, I know what I’m missing relationally,” Richardson said. “I mean, the reason I’m in my major is to be relational, and I know my professors feel the same way … so to not have that component has been kind of detrimental to my learning experience. On Zoom, I can’t point to my screen and be like, ‘I have a question about this,’ and they can’t point to their board in order to clarify something. So it’s just kind of hard to get connected with someone that way.” Richardson’s struggle to connect with others extends outside of the classroom, too. Since this is the first year she’s getting to her major-specific classes, it’s hard to meet and study with other people in her major that she hadn’t met until this year. While she feels like it’s an issue, Richardson said Auburn doesn’t have much room to work with. “I’m not getting to meet one-onone with anyone in my class to further my studying habits,” Richardson said. “I have no idea how Auburn steps that up, and I don’t even know if they can under health codes. I definitely think that that’s something that I personally would want to fix.” While online classes can be difficult for a number of reasons, they are unique in that they allow students to tailor their schedule to fit their life much more than in-person classes do. For Sadok Aounallah, senior in software engineering, online classes have allowed him to effectively take a high course load alongside his job. “It’s very different. In terms of work, in terms of school, I’m not gonna lie, I love having online classes; I’m taking 20 hours this semester, and I can just do it all in the comfort
The Auburn Plainsman: Involvement 2020
of my room,” Aounallah said. “I know a lot of people hate it, like I understand, because you have to self-discipline yourself to actually attend classes and stuff, but I don’t have to walk around.” Now he can spend that time doing other things. “It saves so much time out of the day that you get to spend sleeping,” he said. “I’m always in my room grinding away. It’s fine, I don’t know. I enjoy it.” Having more time for school allows Aounallah to focus on his job as a resident assistant in Cambridge Hall. While he enjoys his work, COVID-19 has brought many complications. “It sucks, because unless residents go to the Med Clinic and test positive or self report, there’s no way that you could prove that they’re positive, and a lot of them have been going out,” Aounallah said. “You’re put at risk, but at the same time housing has made it in a way where we have minimum exposure to residents, so it’s still kind of safe.” Exposure to residents isn’t the only type of exposure Aounallah is worried about. He’s been more conscious about his friends, too. “Before, if I met someone, I’d shake their hand or what not, I’d hug my friends,” Aounallah said. “Now ... I have a really small circle of like five people that I always see; if they’re outside that circle, it’s elbow to elbow, far away and masks on. I don’t play with that.” Like Richardson, Aounallah feels that Auburn has done well in establishing guidelines and providing the necessary resources to keep everyone safe and healthy. But for the situation to improve on campus, Aounallah said the culture has to be changed. “You have to change the culture for people to realize that this is a thing,” Aounallah said. “It’s been going on since March … this is month seven. Auburn should have started earlier, but that doesn’t matter now. It’s already done. Even two weeks ago, last week, you saw people meeting up at houses; it’s still happening. And people aren’t taking it as seriously. So I don’t know how [they] could fight that, it’s more of our job.”
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Finding your place: How to navigate AUInvolve By KATE MCINDOO Writer
For many students, finding an organization or group on campus that they enjoy can be difficult, particularly during their first year on The Plains. The University makes being involved on campus easier and more convenient for students through AUInvolve, a website for students to learn about events, organizations and volunteer opportunities. AUInvolve is regularly updated to provide students with accurate dates and times of activities. Auburn has over 500 clubs on its campus for students to be a part of, so it’s likely that AUInvolve will have something for almost everyone. Once reaching the website, students can login using their Auburn email, which allows the website to cater to each student. While users can browse the website without doing this, signing into a personal account allows AUInvolve to track and organize a student’s involvement. It keeps up with memberships, applications, service hours and event history. Once students create their account and sign in, they can go to the events tab. Here they can search and scroll through events happening on campus. Filtering their search can narrow down what they are most interested in. As Auburn has so many events, this can be a useful tool. Next, students can go to the organizations tab and begin searching for clubs. They can select categories to filter their search here, too. They can click on the
ones that interest them to read about what the club does, when they meet and if they require dues. Usually, the emails of the club officers can be found if a student has any questions they would like to ask them. Under the news tab, students can find updates and articles about what is taking place on campus each week. This is also a way to find out when organizations will have information tables set up on the Haley Concourse. In some cases, students have to fill out a form to join a club or apply for a position. They can find the forms under the forms tab. AUInvolve saves a student’s progress as he or she fills applications out. Every club that requires a form will be listed with the application. The last tab is the service tab. Here, students can learn about volunteer opportunities they can be a part of. When a student finds an opportunity of interest to him or her, he or she can read the description listed below it. This tells the days to go, the time to meet and the dress code for that specific place. AUInvolve is also where students can find their Event Pass, which is a ticket for attending various gatherings on campus. The pass can be found in a student’s account. Many events on campus require this to enter, and plenty of clubs use it as an easy way to take attendance. Students can even add it to the wallet on their phone so they don’t have to scramble for it every time they need it.
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The Auburn Plainsman: Involvement 2020
October 1, 2020
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Not your typical fraternity Business fraternities bring majors together to mirror real-world By MCKENZIE DOOLEY Writer
While fraternities are normally associated with Greek life, there are many professional fraternities on campus located within several different schools that serve to further students’ career opportunities. One such coeducational fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi, is located within the Herbert College of Business. Alex Charleston, junior in accounting and president of Delta Sigma Pi, shared how the organization offers memberships to a wide range of business students. “Unlike a fraternity like Beta Alpha Psi, which is just accounting majors, for example, we have any business major,” Charleston said. “So for us, we just don’t focus on individual majors, we focus on overall business professional development.” Having multiple different focuses in their fraternity allows members to gain even more real-world experience, he said. “Like any business, you will be working with people from all different majors, not necessarily just the ones in your field, so it’s reflective of our fraternity that we have that environment,” he said. As a part of this fraternity, Charleston said that the goal is to provide members with opportunities to advance within their given field of study by prepping students for internships and jobs, while also forming connections with others who are on a similar career track.
“We host workshops for our members, whether it be resumes, interviews or LinkedIn,” he said. “Also, we have a variety of speakers come in and talk about either their business or just a general topic like salary negotiation that anyone could relate to.” Normally, meetings would be held in person every week, but things have changed because of COVID-19, including how members meet and what they can do. “As for meeting right now, we are all online,” he said. “We do our meetings over Zoom, which is lucky because we don’t need to meet in person. But we also plan to hopefully have some in-person social gatherings such as socially-distant social events or community service events.” Charleston said that despite these challenges, Delta Sigma Pi still hopes to provide its members with a similar atmosphere as in years past. “The pandemic has definitely thrown a curve ball into the situation, but we fully intend to bring our best regardless of the difficulty,” he said. Haley McCrossan is the vice president of membership for Alpha Kappa Psi, another coed professional business fraternity. Similar to Delta Sigma Pi, it is open to all business school students. “While it is centered in the business school, the fraternity [Alpha Kappa Psi] is accepting all, regardless of major,” she said. “The goal of the fraternity is to develop principled business leaders and prepare students to enter any career field.” McCrossan said that the goal of Alpha Kappa Psi is to
provide the students with all the necessary information and connections needed to be successful in their career field. “The fraternity holds several different events to help brothers strengthen their skills and their professional networks,” she said. “This includes professional development events, such as resume and LinkedIn workshops, speaker series and public speaking workshops.” Like Delta Sigma Pi, Alpha Kappa Psi will hold several different events throughout the year that will provide their members with everything they need to be successful after graduation. “While we focus on developing our professional skills, we make sure to have fun as well,” McCrossan said. “We will have social events and bonding events, with the goal of creating strong relations within our fraternity. These events are useful to every Auburn student as they prepare to enter the professional world, and we hope that the relationships and experiences made through Alpha Kappa Psi will be carried with brothers wherever they go.” Even with setbacks from COVID-19, McCrossan said that the fraternity will still try to create an engaging environment for its members. “While the pandemic has made it a little more challenging, we will still be having events every week and we will be having fall rush for anyone interested in joining,” McCrossan said. “We will still be having all professional development and social events that we had originally planned, just over Zoom.”
October 1, 2020
The Auburn Plainsman: Involvement 2020
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MARY ELIZABETH LANE | PHOTOGRAPHER
CHAARG held its Glow Yoga event on Cater Lawn this year.
CHAARG strives for health in pandemic By JORDAN WINDHAM Writer
With COVID-19 looming, finding a safe way to bring people together for events during a pandemic can seem less likely than an open-book final exam. The ladies in CHAARG, a health and fitness organization, remained undaunted. In pur-
MARY ELIZABETH LANE | PHOTOGRAPHER
The group will hold virtual and in-person events.
suing their mission to show girls that fitness can be fun, CHAARG has adapted their events to a semester seemingly ruled by COVID-19. “I think COVID has definitely changed the way we view recruitment, but we have been planning for all the possibilities to provide a similar experience for everyone’s comfort level,” said Cate Zwiercan, CHAARG ambassador. One way that CHAARG has recruited new members this semester has been through Glow Yoga, an event they held on Cater Lawn. “Glow Yoga is a super fun twist on a beginner yoga flow where we give everyone glow sticks to put on while we go through a yoga flow led by one of our very own members who is a certified yoga instructor,” Zwiercan said. By hosting the event outside in a large open space, CHAARG was able to properly social distance the 49 participants. Additional COVID-19 precautions included contactless information sharing through QR code scans and wearing gloves to distribute materials. “Further, we also have made everything we can to be completely contactless by using QR code scans for liability waivers, recruitment flyers and other information we are trying to give to the people who come,” Zwiercan said. “We also use gloves when handing things out to any of the partici-
pants.” CHAARG has integrated its in-person strategies with virtual options to make the events inclusive and augment the events’ limited capacities. “All of our weekly workout events have a virtual component to them, so that way we can have a limited capacity for in-person but [are] also still allowing members who are unable or uncomfortable coming to the in-person event a chance to participate,” Zwiercan said. “We have been working with studios throughout the year to explore virtual options and their comfort with offering completely or partially virtual events for their and our safety.” By allowing more people to participate in CHAARG’s events, the group is hoping to foster a community that supports and empowers its members. This is CHAARG’s goal — to help its members in their journey for mental and physical health. “I think people nowadays are looking for a sense of community and a sense of stability in their schedules since everything has been so up in the air for much longer than any of us anticipated,” Zwiercan said. “Our members are really excited to come back and be a part of CHAARG, regardless of the mode of delivery.” Besides hosting events both in-person and online, the group also has a presence on social media. CHAARG has been using social media to help their members con-
MARY ELIZABETH LANE | PHOTOGRAPHER
CHAARG focuses on physical and mental health.
nect. “Since CHAARG is a national organization, we already have a large social media presence where we encourage all of our members to create what we call an inCHAARG Instagram to show off what they are doing in their own life while seeing what other CHAARG girls are doing,” Zwiercan said.
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The Auburn Plainsman: Involvement 2020
October 1, 2020
HANNAH SKIPWORTH | PHOTOGRAPHER
The COVID-19 pandemic has offered a learning experience for members of Alpha Epsilon Delta, one of Auburn’s organizations for pre-health majors.
Pre-med group offers healthcare experience By SARAH GIBSON Writer
COVID-19 has created obstacles for students who are looking to pursue an occupation in the medical field by postponing many necessary research, shadowing and volunteering opportunities. Alpha Epsilon Delta, an organization for Auburn’s pre-health majors, is looking for ways to keep undergraduate students as involved with these experiences as possible. “COVID-19 is posing a lot of challenges for the pre-medical experience with which our organization covers as well as many other pre-health majors,” said Victoria Jiminez, senior in biomedical sciences and president of AED. “All professional schools require volunteering, shadowing and research experiences. Many of these experiences have been canceled for students this semester due to coronavirus.” Jiminez explained that these experiences are vital during the application process for professional schools. The applications often ask students what les-
sons and takeaways they have from their real-world experience, like volunteering, research and shadowing. Some of the questions ask about how individuals gained experience expressing empathy by serving the community and through their volunteering experiences. Through shadowing, students learn the doctor-patient relationship and how to interact with patients. “Freshmen, sophomores and juniors are missing these important experiences like research, which is needed so students know how a clinical study works and the academic side of medicine, too,” she said. “It is really limiting our students on this occupational experience.” One of AED’s goals is to teach premed students to be adaptable during the pandemic. The organization aims to get students to think outside the box by finding opportunities to still get their volunteer and research hours completed while staying calm. “We are trying to teach our students not to panic because they still have plenty of time,” Jiminez said. “There is no reason to panic because the profession-
al schools are understanding of how this pandemic has changed the accessibility of these experiences.” AED has two volunteer coordinators as officers of the organization. These officers actively look for volunteer opportunities and they post them on the organization’s website when a new way to get involved with the community is found. AED hosts its meetings on Zoom every week. During these meetings, speakers from different medical occupations come to share their experiences to students. Jiminez said sometimes the speakers are admissions deans or representatives to a particular medical, optometry, dentistry or another health professional school. “The biggest change in the application process this year is that all interviews are online now,” Jiminez said. “It is very different to connect with who you are talking to online versus face-toface conversation; however, the schools are doing a good job of adapting to the technology while trying to make those
connections over Zoom.” Jiminez also mentioned a lot of professional tests were pushed back while the interview cycles stayed on schedule for the most part. In addition, AED has been offering mock interviews for students interested in pursuing medical, dental, optometry and other professional schools. This helps with knowing what to have prepared ahead of time, how the application looks and what students need to fill out the application. “I hope the experience of this pandemic will not intimidate people who are passionate about being future doctors and other healthcare professionals from the medical field,” Jiminez said. “This pandemic is going to change the face of medicine because no one in the current medical field has ever seen anything like this in their career.” But maybe, the future healthcare professionals will be better prepared. “I think with the coming years, more policies and more training for incidences like this will be put in place in professional schools,” Jiminez said.
October 1, 2020
The Auburn Plainsman: Involvement 2020
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LETTERS FROM CAMPUS
Getting involved helps campus feel like home By JOHN MICHAEL ROEHM Assistant Director of Student Involvement
Welcome back to campus! Although this semester may feel a little different than previous years, we hope that each of you are discovering ways to engage with the campus community. One of the best ways to make the University feel like home is by joining a student organization. With more than 550 student-run organizations on campus, there are numerous ways to get involved and make a difference on Auburn’s campus, all while building strong friendships and connections with peers. For many students, establishing a connection with other students may play a role in a student’s likelihood of continuing their education at Auburn. Organizations provide students with a social outlet, a support group and an opportunity to develop their own identity while being exposed to new cultures and ideas. Now more than ever, we hope that students will choose to find connection with student organizations to create a meaningful campus experience. With so many organizations, the task of choosing one may seem daunting. Student Involvement helps students with that choice through a
group of Involvement Ambassadors. The ambassadors hold one-on-one consultations to assist students in discovering which opportunities best fit their personal interests. The ambassadors encourage involvement among students because of the lifelong benefits. Ambassadors are available to meet virtually or in person in Suite 3130 of the Student Center, Monday–Friday from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Students may schedule a consultation by emailing involve@auburn.edu or chatting live on the Student Involvement website, auburn.edu/involve. Involvement allows students to develop leadership skills, time management and other critical transferable skills that are oftentimes not taught in a classroom. Many organizations provide hands-on experiences for students to apply their knowledge obtained in the classroom to real world situations. Ultimately, the development of these skills may set apart involved student graduates from their peers. Student Involvement plans to continue to provide opportunities for students to connect both through smaller in-person events and virtual events. Be sure to check out AUInvolve regularly for the latest on what is happening on campus.
BSU is a place for free expression, critical conversations By AUBURN BLACK STUDENT UNION To the students and community of Auburn University, the Black Student Union at Auburn University was founded by a group of enthusiastic Black students who came together to represent the concerns and interests of their peers. Since its founding in 1984, BSU has strived to improve the racial climate on campus and in the community by creating a safe environment receptive to African American culture and ideas. Affectionately referred to as the BSU Family, BSU is a home away from home, a safe space to express one’s self as they see fit, a support system to uplift you through hardships and celebrate your successes and, above all else, a family. We encourage all students, especially our Black and African American-identifying students, to get involved on campus and grow as leaders. BSU hosts, facilitates and participates in a wide variety of programs and events on Auburn’s campus. Through our many partnerships, service projects, weekly General Assembly meetings and staple events such as Quick Ties, Fresh Start Frenzy, Fall Forum, Soul Food Bazaar and our Jazz and Poetry Night, we emphasize the importance of fellowship and the role it plays within the Black community. By attending BSU’s weekly General Assemblies or staple events, all students are presented the opportunity to have a safe place to learn and grow from critical conversations and define who they are as diverse individuals. Although this academic year is unlike any other and presents ongoing challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic, we
are continuing our engagement with the student body by providing virtual events, activities and meetings that will keep everyone safe and healthy. For all first-year students looking to get more involved with BSU this year, our Freshmen Committee and Transfer Committee applications are both open on AUInvolve. We encourage you all to apply for these respective committees regardless of previous leadership experiences. More information regarding these respective applications can be found on BSU’s AUInvolve page. For our returning students who are interested in getting more involved with BSU, we encourage you all to apply for Cabinet when applications open in the spring. As a member of Cabinet, you will have the opportunity to make your mark on campus and grow personally, professionally and, of course, as a leader. Jailin Sanders, current BSU president, has been a member of the organization since his freshman year, 2017–2018, and has gained a multitude of experiences that have shaped him into the person and leader he is today. Whether you pursue cabinet or not, all students are welcomed and highly encouraged to attend, interact with one another and participate in all of the great events that BSU sponsors throughout the year, including our General Assemblies every Monday at 5 p.m. via Zoom at aub.ie/GeneralAssembly. Follow us on the following social media platforms to stay up to date on what’s going on in BSU — on Instagram: _aubsu; Twitter: _aubsu; Facebook: Auburn BSU. We look forward to seeing you soon! — Your BSU Family
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