4. Extracurriculars

Episode 4 looks at how student life continued even with the shift to remote and Covid-19 protocols, including campus culture, student activities, organizations, and athletics. 

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Transcript

Liam Foley 

Unknown Speaker  2:45  - DONE 

04.15LF

One of the only ways that the majority was communicated and kind of interacted was basically through video games through online modality, FaceTime, that was kind of our only social interaction. So the club didn't really do anything during COVID, because it was next to impossible to have anything.

04.01.NARR

HOST: Welcome back to Perseverentia. I’m your host, Maddy Waterson. This is episode four, Extracurriculars. In the last episode, we looked at the essential workers at Fitchburg State. In this episode, we will be examining campus life when the students returned to in-person in the fall of 2020. How did campus life transition with the implementation of COVID protocols? 

Before we look at the extracurricular, we wanted to touch upon one of the biggest demonstrations that occurred at the university in recent memory. The Unity Rally. Over the Summer of 2020, concensiding with the pandemic was the continued reckoning with racial justice and the murder of George Floyd. Students wanted to bring that activism to campus and create a chance for reflection and positive change. The President of the Black Student Union, Dimitri Moore describes the Unity Rally and the purpose of the event

CT Dimitri Moore

Unknown Speaker  1:42 - DONE - 

04.31DM

So the unity rally was pretty much a bunch of I want to say speeches, from variety of different members across campus, I definitely took I took apart more so as a representative of the Black Student Union, because at the time I was currently serving as president, but he also did have a faculty members as well as higher education members. So we're going to have like Dr. Bayless, we even did have campus police, our chief actually come out and really make a speech more in terms of what is happening very much all these speeches, were really talking about equality, it was really bringing up essentially what is going on? What are the problems, the challenges that people, you know, like me, people of color African Americans really are facing, it really just was a goal to, you know, bring to light. And it wasn't more so of a goal of, you know, let's bash, it was more of a goal of me to address the hatred and understand that, you know, hatred has no home here.

04.02NARR

The unity rally took place on the main quad and the speeches were delivered on the steps of Thompson hall. The campus community turned out in great numbers to support the demonstrations. 

CT Dimitri Moore

Unknown Speaker  10:41  - DONE - 

04.30DM

it was an amazing sight, especially being on that stage. Seeing everyone the whole quad essentially filled up, it was very nice to see that you really saw all walks of life, he saw males, you saw females, he saw athletes he saw, you know, your little straggler students, like you probably see like, once a year on campus and stuff like that, it was we very much succeeded in creating a form of community even if it was just for that moment. And it was really it really goes to show how when the topic of equality comes, Fitchburg State really shows up, you know, and I was very, I was very proud of this university in terms of how that event was displayed, especially with everything going on with the pandemic, you know, crowd was very different. They have mask and everyone was six feet apart for the most part, but it was very, it was a very memorable experience. 

04.03NARR

The Student Government President,Kerry Mcmanus spoke upon the planning and student support of the Unity Rally. 

AD Kerry McManus Unknown Speaker  21:37 - DONE 

04.06KM

 it was planned by a student who no longer than Fitchburg State. At the time, he was a football player, and he was part of the special education department. He was had a brief stint in student government as well. But they pulled in the Black Student Union. I think the Latin American student organization, Student Government Association, so all sorts of students were consulted and utilized for publicity, and everything else is distort. I think student government funded some T shirts and everything like that. So I was there, I was supportive. And it was one of the more impactful events on campus not only for the messaging, but also like to relate it back to the COVID project. Like there were rings on the quad and understand in your recruits into anyone else's or outside of living. And they were spaced out like six feet and six feet any direction. And watching everybody lived up in the range just because they wanted to be a part of that unity rally and to spread the message of kind of stopping the heat. And making sure for Tracy was a step above that was really impactful, really interesting to see. So I was there. It was truly a phenomenal experience to like look all the way down the quad. I'm right next to Thompson about the steps, like near the speakers, but not one of them. Getting out T shirts, and to see the entire thing felt pretty much down to like, I think it was like the Anthony Student Service building was when it started to like taper out and then there were students further back. So that was awesome. And I know that it's you know, they're spread out. So it wasn't, you know, jam packed back to back but filling up that much space in a time that we hadn't seen that many people on campus. It was really cool.

04.04NARR

The vice president of Student affairs, Doctor Bayless explains the administration’s support for the Unity rally as well as the covid regulations to ensure safety of the participants

AD Doctor Laura Bayless

Unknown Speaker  43:01 - DONE 

04.03LB

Yeah, I in the unity rally was actually during the fall of 2020. Okay, and it was sponsored the unity rally. That was a specific event that was initiated by students. And that it was like a, it was fast. It was just to see the way it played out was fascinating. It was a rally in the way you would think. But we, it was out on the quad. And the speakers were on the Thompson porch where the rocking chairs are. But we put circles on the grass six feet apart. So everybody who attended had their own circle, so that they would be safe, and they needed to be masked, you know, so it was good to gather everybody together. And it was a pretty powerful event, I thought. 

04.05NARR

The Unity rally was a highly successful event with a large turn out from the campus community. However, The unity rally was an anomaly regarding student involvement on campus.  Campus clubs and organizations were not allowed to hold in person events due to covid guidelines which showed to decimate student involvement. Liam Foley, Member of the fraternity Alpha Phi Delta, explains the struggles organizations faced during the pandemic

CL Liam Foley

Unknown Speaker  2:01   - DONE 

04.14LF

Yeah, it was mainly, it was primarily online for a year and a half, I would say. So it was extremely difficult to you know, have any events. So we were constantly searching for virtual modalities that we could do for events. We also it just like it hurt social relations in the chapter because people couldn't hang out with each other as much. We couldn't interact. So it kind of hurt the whole brotherhood aspect. And that's one of the primary reasons that a lot of people join a fraternity. So that kind of just hindered communication, involvement, social interaction, and it just kind of killed the morale of everybody.

04.06NARR

The sudden change of in person to online modalities was a significant challenge for clubs and organizations. Prior to the pandemic, there were little to no online opportunities thus making the transition all the more difficult. Starr Brosseau describes one of the largest clubs on campus prior to the pandemic,nFItchburg Activity Boards also known as FAB, efforts to move online causing the loss of numerous FAB members. 

CL Starr Brosseau 

Unknown Speaker  3:40  - DONE 

04.24SB

So we started meeting online via Google meats. And we eventually dropped down to just an eboard. And then just a few chairs. And then over time, you know, we thought things were going to return to normal so much faster than they did. So we were just kind of holding on to hope that we were going to remain in person or come back to being in person. And when it took so long, we lost even more chairs. So we ended up down to like maybe six, seven consistent members.

04.07NARR

In addition to membership of clubs and organizations on the decline, students were not attending virtual events as well. FAB President Miradna Gustins articulates the the lack of Interest in participating with online events and the struggle of planning the events:

CT Miranda gustin 

Unknown Speaker  7:09 - DONE 

04.18MG

 it was really just as hard to plan these events that I know, nobody wanted to go to. Not that they didn't want to go to them, I found at events that like I enjoyed being a part of, but it would took everything out of me to sit there and stare at a screen for arguably much longer than the person who was attending it because I think could leave whenever I had to actually pay attention and, and participate in stuff.

04.08NARR

Foley best summed up the experience of club and organization on campus:

CL Liam Foley

04.16LF

Unknown Speaker  4:17  

it just kind of this was basically for the entirety of Greek life, it killed participation, recruitment numbers went down, people started to disaffiliate from the organization. So overall involvement, morale and participation just completely went out the window 

04.09NARR

During a time of such uncertainty, there was one constant: The Student Government Association advocating for the student body. Student Government Senator Starr Brosseasu spoke upon reliability of Student Government during the pandemic:

CT Starr Brosseasu 

Unknown Speaker  10:02  - DONE 

04.25SB

sure. I was just so blown away and so relieved that as soon as the pandemic hit, it's we just got all the virtual components together. And it was like, we didn't skip a beat. We met, I think, I mean, we had the two, the first two weeks off. And I think we met right after that, not even knowing what everything was going to look like moving forward, like, we had no idea what we were in for, how long that this was gonna last. And we just didn't skip a beat. So I was, it was really great to see, like how resilient we are as an organization, even though you know, we've gotten very small and loss. I mean, not really small, but we, you know, over time, it became harder to recruit than it was before. So I just feel like, it got more difficult, but I think we got stronger as an organization. And it was just such a relief, to know that every Tuesday at 630, we were hopping on our computers, and meeting and getting things done and being able to see each other because everything else was just so unknown. So it was really nice to have something reliable.

04.10NARR

Student Government was one of the few clubs on campus that held consistent meetings during the pandemic. Despite the lack of student involvement, there was no reduction in student grievances. Student Government President Kerry McManus explains the frustration of students:

AD Kerry McManus

Unknown Speaker  15:00 - DONE 

04.05KM

 So, student government was pretty up in arms in the student body in general was we throw around the word petition, we threw around all of those kind of those strong words, as much as we could we try to get the students on board with this, a lot of students were really fired up and angry because we've been coming back to school, which was stressful enough for many students. And then we're coming back in a pandemic, which was even more stressful. And then we were coming back in a pandemic, with no health services in case people were to get sick. So that was kind of what I mentioned earlier, where they got really swell, and coming to us for the feedback that we were able to provide them. This was kind of the catalyst and then being like, Oh, we really need to talk to our students about things that impact the students, because everybody was really, really upset to walk you through the decisions. I wasn't in the room that decided that I wasn't part of that like decision making process. But the after effects of us constantly emailing and constantly being up in arms about what was happening. And the sheer level of students that were really riled up about it was astronomical Fitchburg State, we've never truly like we've had our political events, we've had our moments where things affect every student and every student stops and takes a minute, and they're like, Oh, wow. But we've never had something change on the university that has sparked such a drastic response.

04.11NARR

Similar to clubs and organizations, athletics had struggles of their own. Athletics were under strict covid guidelines. The Senior Director of Athletics & Recreation Matt Burke explains the work his department faced during the pandemic 

CL Matt Burke 

04.11MB

Unknown Speaker  4:46  - DONE

Well, I mean, at first, the, you know, the really bizarre thing was we didn't have sports at all. So, you know, we were really like, some people took a lot of time off like accrued vacation time that they didn't have before, have a chance to do before and We really were just kind of constantly planning but not able to do what we thought we might be able to do. So, you know, in the fall, we, you know, we lost a full calendar year, every sport lost the season, somewhere in there and each time like, so when we shut down initially, because of the spring seasons, we started getting ready for the fall, I think we might have a chance to play the fall, did all the work to get ready for that. And then that got canceled. 

04.12NARR

Eventually, covid restrictions started easing up for athletics and allowed sports to finally practice and to start their seasons. 

CL Matt Burke 

Unknown Speaker  10:29 - DONE

 04.12MB

So was each team like different? Yeah, I think it's been, it's been relatively based on the seasons and what we've learned as we've gone on, you know, like, as I was saying, last spring, when we first restarted sports, you know, you had to have a mask on at all times, inside, outside on buses. So and then when we got to the fall sports, we were able to remove the masks except like, when you were inside. So if you're in the locker room, or if you're on the bus, you had to have a mask on, but you could compete without the mask on. But indoors, you had to compete with the mask on. So like soccers had no mask volleyball had masks, though, it just depended on the sport and the risk level associated with the sport.

04.13NARR

In the spring of 2021, sports were finally getting back into the swing of things, however, sports weren’t back to normal. Softball player Audrey Johnson explains the changes the softball team experienced to stay in guidance of the covid policies in order to have a season.

CL Audrey Johnson

Unknown Speaker  1:23  - DONE 

04.13AJ

So it's completely different from a complete normal season still, because all we did was play MASCAC, and we had to play them four times instead of two. And if we just practiced for four or five days a week in play two days, two days a week, completely, not normal as usually is going to play 20 games compared to our 40. And we still had to wear masks which is restricting for when you're breathing, especially outside. And it just wasn't normal as it would be my freshman year before COVID.

04.14NARR

Student Athletes were enthusiastic that their respective sports teams were allowed to practice and start their seasons, but the loosening of covid guidelines did come at a cost. Hockey player Zack cormier tells the story of multiple covid outbreaks for the hockey team:

CL Zach Cormier 

Unknown Speaker  7:27   - DONE 

04.29.Cormier.Clip

It was, I'd say halfway through October, when our first we had two waves of COVID Go through the team, which was bizarre in itself. But the first, the first wave was right before our first game, and all of our hearts dropped because it's, it started on Monday, three, three teammates went down. Tuesday, four teammates went down. Wednesday, another five teammates went down. And then Thursday are all of our coaches got it? So right then and there were like, are we even going to have a season? Are they going to shut it down? But so it was quarantined for 10 to 11 days. Granted, that's my knowledge. Um, and then after that, there's a five day period where the returning players had to finish their protocols, which was the first day 15 minutes of light exercise. So our method of exercising was on the bike. So we had to bike for 15 minutes for the first two days, and then bike for 45 minutes, the bike for an hour. And then after that, they're able to go on the ice, but only for a half an hour, for two days, and then an hour for the last day. 

………

It is a dip different atmosphere without fans. It just says the fans really bring the heart and soul to a hockey game and it just felt like a scrimmage at some times. When there's big hit. There wasn't a commotion. When someone scored, there wasn't cheering 

04.15NARR

It is an understatement to say that campus life diminished during the pandemic. Clubs and organizations weren’t allowed to meet in person, virtual events constantly had low turnouts, and athletics had strict restrictions, even canceling seasons out right. It was definitely a dark time for student involvement at Fitchburg State. Clubs, organizations and athletics provide students with an opportunity to develop community, take on leadership positions, and most importantly, feel a sense of belonging. The pandemic took away a full year student interaction, a loss that will have long lasting effects at the university.

Perseverentia is a production of Fitchburg State University. I’m your narrator, [NAME]. This podcast was produced as part of Dr. Katherine Jewell’s Honors Seminar in History in the Spring of 2022. Special Thanks to Asher Jackson and the staff at the Amelia V. Gallucci-Ciro Library, Kisha Tracy, and the Fitchburg State University Economics, History, and Political Science Department, and the Fitchburg State University Honors Program.

You can find all episodes of Perserverentia, as well as our bibliographies and our entire archive on our website, sites.google.com/fitchburgstate.edu/fsucovid19.