Pitt-Greensburg Clubs Attempt to Mobilize

With Pitt-Greensburg reopening to students, clubs have begun planning events in a new, safer manner. While safety seems to be a primary concern for everyone on campus, clubs want to plan events that will break the monotony of online classes and still offer fun opportunities to students. 

However, between classes and increased stress from the pandemic, there is a fear that clubs will not recruit as many members as they usually do. In addition, it will be harder this year for freshmen to make connections and join clubs due to everything being online. 

Natalie Bigi, a freshman who is currently undecided, discussed how she feels about joining clubs in the COVID-19 era.  

“It’s really hard to meet people,” said Bigi. “It’s hard to walk into something and not know what other people are about.” 

While it may be difficult to meet new people, organizations are working to try and get people involved despite all the restrictions. 

One of the ways Pitt-Greensburg has tried to adapt to the restrictions on campus and advertise clubs to students was with the Virtual Activities Fair, which took place on Aug. 27 from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Students had the opportunity to pop into different Zoom meetings and find information about clubs. 

Al Thiel, director of the Student Center and student involvement, spoke on how he thinks the Virtual Activities Fair went. 

“I won’t say it was the same or as good as an in-person event,” Thiel said, “but I think that it was as good as it could get.” 

With students wanting programs on campus, club leaders are deciding what events should look like on campus.  

Melissa Paravate, Student Government Association senate president and Residence Hall Association president, discusses how she is planning events. 

“I feel bad because I feel a lot of people get burnt out by Zoom,” Paravate said. “So, my goal has been to make events that are in-person while still following the guidelines.” 

SGA has also made it apparent they’re willing to help clubs with their events and have allocated funding to clubs for most events. 

“We want to be there to support them and make sure they are getting the funding that they need,” Paravate said. 

While the majority of clubs have been doing their events online, some events will begin making the shift to in-person. 

“People are going to start seeing some of that normalcy kind of stuff,” Thiel said. “Now that people have been here a few weeks, people are understanding the rules and things have gotten a little clearer.” 

Students are encouraged to use Engage this semester, as all upcoming events and club meetings will be posted there.