NORFOLK – As the coronavirus pandemic has hit around the world, one major place it has affected is schools. More specifically, it has affected some colleges, one of these colleges being our very own Northeast Community College.  

With schools moving totally online, students were encouraged to stay home and social distance. This has put a stop to what members of the Student Activities Council love, which is interacting with other students face to face at the college’s weekly activities.  

The Student Activities Council (SAC) is a club on campus consisting of 14 members and two leaders, Carissa Kollath and Erika Rupprecht, that puts together events for students to interact and meet one another while experiencing new things and making fun memories.  

Since Northeast has become fully remote due to COVID-19, the club has adapted and moved online as well. While the group is still able to connect with students virtually, it is not quite the same as face to face events. 

“I miss the people the most, from meetings to events, the people were always my favorite,” SAC member Hannah Stahl said. 

Secretary officer of Student Activities Council, Victoria Gaona agreed and said, “The thing I miss most is seeing everybody and them telling me how excited they are for events.” 

SAC member and sophomore student Hope Boyle said she misses, “being able to work events on campus and seeing everyone’s faces.”

As student life had most of the events planned out for the rest of the semester, it has been upsetting for both members and students to miss out on these opportunities.  

“I think we were going to do a super cool paint party at the end of the year, if I remember correctly, so I was looking forward to that,” SAC Vice President Morgan Eickmeier said.  

Stahl said her favorite events are Extreme Bowling and Blacklight Bingo and she misses not being able to attend those and help work the shifts.  

“We had the band Dawson Hallow scheduled to come perform. When I went to the National Association of the Promotion of Student Activities, I saw them again and I love them. They have good music and music to vibe to,” Gaona said.  

While missing out on these unforgettable experiences, the group has hope for the future. “Next year I am most looking forward to meeting new people and the fun events,” Stahl said.  

Gaona is simply hoping to get to have these events on campus for the 2020-21 school year and get to have a conversation with students in real life.  Boyle is also looking forward to having events again and in-person SAC meetings instead of Zoom calls.

Even though the group members do not have the same interaction face to face, they still remain one of the best parts about being in SAC. “All of my fellow SAC members and how strong they are through all of this makes it my favorite part about being involved in the team during this time,” Boyle said.

Since the drastic changes, the club has used social media to encourage students to participate in online events. 

They have created ‘TikTok Tuesday’ where current students can send in a TikTok based on the theme for the week and get entered in to win an e-gift card. Some of the themes included a daily routine of what students have been doing, one showing their favorite quarantine outfit, a few dance challenges and the Full House challenge.  

The club had its members collaborate and create a TikTok for the week together to share with students across social media. 

SAC also held special Zoom calls where students got to interact with a movie-themed trivia night and an open mic night.  

Not only has the club allowed students to stay connected while the campus is closed, but they have also allowed students and instructors to send messages. The Student Activities Council asked students and instructors to send in messages for each other.  

The students got to post a picture of themselves with a piece of paper saying which instructor they missed the most and gave an explanation of why. Some instructors also sent in their messages to their students telling them that they miss them and to stay strong during this challenging time. These pictures were then posted to social media for everyone to appreciate.  

Through this same format, some students also shared what they miss most from Northeast and their favorite memory. 

While the world is not in a pandemic, the club shows a movie every Monday night in the Cox Activities Center at 9:30 p.m. for students to relax and watch. They also put on a ‘Wacky Wednesday’ event every week, this ranges from, trivia nights, extreme bowling, entertainment such as musicians or comedians, both on and off-campus. 

The Wacky Wednesday event of the week sometimes revolves around a theme that could be based on a holiday or special occasion around that time. Some weeks they have bonus events such as speeches or even the members giving out free hugs to students. 

The club does just about anything to help the students in any way that they can with stress relief, a break away from homework and studying and gives everyone a chance to meet new people. Another plus is that you can almost always count on SAC for free Northeast merchandise, gift cards, T-shirts and the list goes on. 

“Everyone is so nice in the Student Activities Council and we know how to have a good time. It’s also a good leadership group and you can learn a lot while having fun at the same time,” Boyle said.

Gaona said students should join SAC because, “There are great opportunities to meet new people and it looks good on your resume. It feels like a family away from family.”