Straight from the horse’s mouth: Success tips from AC faculty
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Amarillo College's News Source Since 1930 acranger.com
Volume 91, Special Edition
August 27, 2020
Unmasking Fall 2020
Wearing masks and social distancing: what else will be different this semester? By CAYLEE HANNA Page Editor
The atmosphere at Amarillo College will look different during the fall 2020 semester with students and faculty wearing face masks while social distancing, but the staff and faculty at AC say they are still committed to their culture of caring and making sure students stay successful and earn their credits during the pandemic. “In many ways, classes will be similar to the learning experience before COVID. Students can choose if they want an online or face to face experience. The faculty will connect with and engage students in exciting ways,” Dr. Russell Lowery-Hart, the AC president, said. “There will be important differences though. Everyone will wear masks. Face-toface courses may rotate students into classrooms in cycles to maintain social distancing. Yet, the AC family will still be connected, safe and successful.” Along with classes being available in person and online, Lowery-Hart said that student services as well as student organizations and events will be available both in person and online so that all students have access to the same services. “Students may access services online or in person. If a student needs tutoring, advising, counseling, social service support, student organizations, events or just wants to see their faculty, the college will be open. Yet, these will be managed safely through masks, social distancing and hygiene. These services will be available online as well for those students who may not be comfortable coming to campus,” he said. AC will also continue to provide free tutoring on all campuses, said Becky Burton, the associate vice president of academic services. “On campus tutoring most likely will require an appointment to ensure we have safe numbers of students in our tutoring centers. Virtual tutoring will continue to be available as well,” she said. The Underground will also still be available for students to use while maintaining social distancing. Shane Hepler, the chief information officer,
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said that some of the meeting rooms in the computer lab will have cameras and microphones installed so students can participate in virtual classes while in the rooms. “The only difference this semester with The Underground is social distancing from an operational point of view. Some of the middle meeting rooms also have cameras and mics now so you can join a class or collaborate with an instructor or classmates from within the room,” he said. Hepler said the goal is to make sure students can learn safely. “The biggest difference about the fall semester is the masks, social distancing and sanitization. All to help mitigate COVID while still offering our great services and helping keep students, faculty and staff safe,” he said. Lowery-Hart said that, despite the challenges the outbreak has created, AC is making a strong commitment to ensure students succeed. “Learning never stops. This fall is a great opportunity for students to turn the crisis into credits and get ahead – both educationally and professionally. Amarillo College is nationally recognized for our culture of caring. COVID only showed how deep our commitment to student success is and this fall will be no different,” he said.
AC Student Life: putting the ‘social’ in social distancing By CAYLEE HANNA Page Editor
Despite the many changes COVID-19 has brought to Amarillo College, the Student Life department will offer virtual and in-person options for student activities this semester. “Student Life will still be very active this fall semester with a variety of events in multiple formats, not only inperson,” Miranda McHugh, the Student Life administrative assistant, said. “When we are on campus and requesting students to participate in an event or activity in person, masks and social distancing measures will be enforced. We also plan to have come-and-go options as well as virtual if a student is not comfortable coming to campus, but would still like to be engaged.”
Jenna Welch, Student Life coordinator, said they are working with the AC Student Government Association to create a fun environment outside of the classroom. “Student Life is focused on keeping our students’ safety as the utmost importance, while still striving for an engaging college experience,” Welch said. “We have been working with the Student Government Association to ensure that our events will continue to provide a fun and welcoming connection outside of the classroom.” “Our mission to provide students with opportunities to engage with one another and make the best of their time at AC has not changed. We are confident that students who participate in our in-person and online activities will still find them rewarding and fun. There will still be clubs
available for students to join, both personal and professional development opportunities, fun events and, of course, free food,” Welch said. Students will also see some changes in the intramural sports program due to social distancing procedures. “Intramurals will be different in the regards that we will not be hosting our traditional leagues and tournaments such as flag football, volleyball, 3-on-3 basketball and the like,” Trent Oneal, the coordinator of intramural sports, said. “Instead, we’ll be offering a lot of other events both on and off campus that will allow participants the chance to come and participate and then leave, like a Punt, Pass and Kick Contest where students will come between given hours, perform their
attempts and then leave. Awards will be announced and given the following day.” Oneal said that the substitute events will also include virtual options. “As with our leagues and tournaments, we will not have some of our traditional events like Gotcha or Zombies versus Humans, but we will have other events and challenges like our virtual races and discussions with professionals. For example, a discussion with certified shooting instructor Rob Altman who will discuss how to get involved in local shooting events,” he said. Students will not have to choose between staying safe and participating. “Student Life has been
working hard to make sure that there are a plethora of events and engagement opportunities for the student body of AC. We first and foremost want to ensure the safety of our students and simultaneously want to provide full student experience while attending AC. Many of our events will come and go and we will strongly be enforcing social distancing and wearing of masks,” Oneal said. Welch said that despite the new challenges, she is glad to see the semester get started.
Keep up with all things Intramurals!
Follow them on Instagram (@ac_intramurals) and Facebook (@ACIntramurals).
Find out more about upcoming events by visiting https://www.actx.edu/studentlife/intramural-sports or checking out the “Weekly Dig” email every Monday!