September 2020

REPORTER SEPTEMBER 2020 // REPORTER.RIT.EDU

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EDITOR IN CHIEF Kasey Mathews PRINT MANAGING EDITOR Tyler English ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR Victoria Sebastian COPY EDITOR Mimi Lee NEWS EDITOR Jessica Sides TECHNOLOGY EDITOR Leland Goodrich LEISURE EDITOR Karina Le FEATURES EDITOR Morgan LaMere WELLNESS EDITOR Brooke Wolfenbarger VIEWS EDITOR Marilyn Wolbert WRITERS Abby Bratton, Morgan LaMere, Tommy Delp, Brooke Wolfenbarger, Anika Griffiths

ART DIRECTOR Neil Williamson ONLINE ART MANAGER Sara Calhoun SENIOR DESIGNER Pallavi Singh DESIGNERS Adrianna Petrus, Pallavi Singh, Lily Garnaat, Jiaya Zheng ILLUSTRATORS Adrianna Petrus, Lisa Zhou, Michael Smith, Pallavi Singh, Sara Calhoun, Lily Garnatt

PHOTOGRA PHOTO EDITOR Diana Spencer PHOTOGRAPHERS Rachel Kogut

BUSINESS MANAGER Lucy Brown AD / PR MANAGER Ali Johnston

SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR Will Nilges ONLINE SERVICES MANAGER Efe Ozturkoglu VIDEO EDITOR Trisha Pickelhaupt PODCAST PRODUCER Maximilian Thoburn PODCAST HOST Wyatt Kinsey

EDITOR’S NOTE

REPORTER

D

amn, we’ve really been through it.

In less than a year the world has experienced one of the largest wildfire outbreaks in recorded history, a serious threat of an American-Iranian war, the impeachment of a U.S. president, a medical disaster on the scale of the 1918 flu

pandemic, unemployment spiking to levels reminiscent of the Great Depression and one of the largest civil rights movements in American history. And here we are back in classes, caught in the middle.

Events have escalated from bad to worse, month by month. Throughout it all, we’ve heard a cacophony of disparate opinions ranging from complete overhaul of federal systems to outright dismissal of pressing issues.

In the wake — and in many cases ongoing hardship — of these events, the importance of our own voices has never been more apparent. It may be said that those of us with the ability to speak up and share our experiences have an obligation to do so. I push that further: We also have an obligation to ensure we use our platform to amplify the voices of the unheard.

Reporter understands this obligation. Our mission is to ensure reliable journalistic coverage of topics relevant to the RIT community, from voices within that community.

However, we need your support to do so.

We are students working on behalf of students. We rely on our community to ensure our coverage is cohesive, accurate, impactful and encompassing. But we also need students to join our staff. To write, photograph, illustrate and so much more.

Our content and ideas come directly from our staff and our community; and the more interest we have, the more we’re able to do.

We also rely heavily on the community to provide us with tips (anonymous or otherwise) for further investigation. It’s through tips like these we’re able to uncover stories that the community deserves to know, from federal legal scandals involving RIT professors to cutbacks in student healthcare on campus.

Further, Reporter welcomes and encourages feedback through letters to the editor, whether that be feedback on our own coverage or thoughts on the actions of other RIT-affiliated offices and organizations.

We are Reporter magazine. Our office is located in the Campus Center, room A-730.

Come say hi.

ADVISOR Rudy Pugliese PRINTING Sutherland Printing CONTACT +1 (585) 475–2212 KASEY MATHEWS | EDITOR IN CHIEF Letters to the Editor should be sent to rpteic@rit.edu. No letters will be published unless signed.

All letters received become the property of REPORTER.

Please Recycle 2 September

Reporter magazine is published monthly during the academic year by a staff comprised of students at Rochester Institute of Technology. Business, Editorial and Design facilities are located in Room A-730, in the lower level of the Campus Center. Our phone number is +1 (585) 475–2212. The Advertising Department can be reached at +1 (585) 475–2213. “Let’s have a pierogi party at 10 o’clock” -A.J. The opinions expressed in Reporter do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute. Reporter is not responsible for materials presented in advertising areas. Copyright © 2020 Reporter Magazine. All rights reserved. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced without prior written permission.

cover and TOC by Neil Williamson

IN T HI S I S S UE 4

NEWS

LEISURE

POLICY IN THE TIME OF COVID-19

A NIGHT AT THE MOVESI

An examination of U.S. public policy in the shadow of COVID-19.

6

8

A trip to the theater seems simple enough, but the experience provides much more than you’d realize.

TECH

FEATURES

BUILDING DIGITAL COMMUNITIES

NAVIGATING THE HARDSHIPS OF LIFE

When physical interaction isn’t an option anymore, where do you go?

@R EP O R T ER M A G

10

Ways to deal with loss and finding a support system.

WELLNESS 12

WORKING “IN” The gym is overrated.

Here’s how you can get a great workout in or around your own home.

VIEWS 15

RINGS

RIT’s only digital confessional.

Text or call (585) 672-4840

R E P O R T E R.R IT.EDU September 3

POLICY IN THE TIME OF COVID-19

“

by Abby Bratton | illustration & design by Adrianna Petrus

T

he World Health Organization officially characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic on Mar. 11, 2020. In the months since, the United States government has implemented a number of laws on both the federal and state levels to minimize the impact of the virus. In the midst of this disruption, the standard functions of government continue. Legislation unrelated to COVID-19 is still pursued, debated, passed and enacted.

However, even public policy with no clear connection to the coronavirus is affected by the pandemic.

THE PASSAGE OF POLICY “Everything comes down to government,” said Dr. Samuel McQuade, a professor in RIT’s Department of Public Policy, referring to both COVID-19 and broader matters of crisis response and public anxiety.

The U.S. government’s prioritization of crisis management for the pandemic is evidenced through legislation like the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a federal economic relief package signed into law on Mar. 27, 2020. Significant media attention has also been given to COVID-19.

With such intense focus on the coronavirus, concerns were raised that policymakers might try to pass other legislation unnoticed during this time that would normally draw more controversy. This worry is easy to see in articles with loaded titles like “.

Nathan Lee, founder of the nonprofit research organization CivicPulse and upcoming assistant professor in RIT’s Department of Public Policy, believes this should not be a cause for alarm.

“The United States has one of the most robust and wide-ranging civil societies in the

“ 4 News

Everything comes down to

GOVERNMENT.

world, and by that I mean a vast number of nonprofits and think tanks and advocacy organizations, and many of them have specific missions that they are concerned with,” he said.

As Lee explained, these groups play an important role in advocacy and awareness of public causes. Even during this pandemic, their purpose remains unchanged. They continue to raise support for certain policies, protest others and ensure public attention is given to the issues they care about.

“If you’re an environmental defense fund and you’re concerned about climate change, you might modify your messaging during COVID-19 but you’re not going to stop worrying about climate change,” Lee said.

This civil society also impacts government focus. “The nice thing about the United States is you can take some solace in the fact that these stakeholders in civil society are going to kind of keep governments from over-allocating their attention away from these topics,” he explained.

As he pointed out, concerns over how much coverage is given to potentially controversial policies are not unique to these pandemic times. Most people just don’t have the time to keep up with every major political issue, even under the best of circumstances.

Of course, the intense attention given to the coronavirus is still out of the ordinary. Such

”

detailed coverage allows for facts and safety procedures to be spread more easily, but it may have some detrimental effects as well.

“When we think about the media and where the media’s attention is going to go, there is a danger that we kind of collectively take our eye off the ball excessively,” Lee said.

Even during a pandemic, it is critical to pay attention and stay informed on other issues.

PUBLIC ANXIETY AND PRIVACY CONCERNS “The most disturbing fact [about pandemics], other than of course the natural spread of these diseases without vaccines, is the fear,” McQuade commented.

This is not an unwarranted statement. A Gallup poll released on Apr. 16, 2020 found that 57% of Americans are worried about contracting the virus, while 48% of Americans are worried about experiencing severe financial hardship because of it.

Another likely focal point of current public anxieties may be privacy, according to Lee. “There’s more inroads sometimes made against privacy during crises,” Lee said.

In terms of privacy concerns specific to COVID-19, he cited contact tracing as one relevant example. Contact tracing is a process through which everyone a COVID-19 patient had close contact with while infectious is con-

There’s more inroads sometimes made against

PRIVACY during crises.”

March 11, 2020 The World Health Organization declares COVID-19 an official

57% of

Americans had fears of contracting the disease

March 27, 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security

(CARES) Act is enacted

April 30, 2020 As reported from the BBC , the predicted the

global economy will shrink by 3% within the year

April 26, 2020 Gallup poll found:

48%

were afraid of financial hardships

May 21, 2020

93,061

June 10, 2020 Confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. has risen to

COVID-19 deaths were reported by the Centers Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S.

112,133

tacted and informed of their potential exposure. In order for contact tracing to be effective, the people conducting it require access to names and locations of patients and their contacts, which raises potential issues around violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

“I think there is an important conversation going on about how to navigate that,” Lee continued.

Because of this relevance to the ongoing pandemic response, Lee doesn’t think significant privacy legislation is likely to be passed without public scrutiny.

“I would be surprised if major legislation that dramatically affected privacy was able to pass Congress without significant media attention, because it’s kind of directly related to

the crisis at hand. I think the bigger concern would be things that seem completely unrelated,” he said.

ONGOING REPERCUSSIONS When considering the full impact of COVID-19 on government functions, it’s important to look past issues of policy focus, public attention and privacy. According to an article published by the BBC on Apr. 30, 2020, there is a significant risk of recession in countries across the world, with the global economy predicted to shrink by 3% in 2020. The number of people filing for unemployment in the United States has reached a record high.

Even after the pandemic, resource allocation will be impacted by these long-term economic effects. There is also the direct toll of the

virus. As of June 10, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a total of 112,133 confirmed deaths from COVID-19 in the United States alone.

Even in the face of these serious issues, Lee remains optimistic about moving forward after the pandemic.

“One of the positive things that could come out of this is more of a sense of shared fate between different groups of people that might allow for some more bipartisan legislation, and bipartisan discussions about policies that have maybe today remained sort of intractable,” he said.

In other words, even as COVID-19 forces people physically apart, they may find a way to come together and stand united.

News 5

BUILDING

DIGITAL COMMUNITIES

by Morgan LaMere | illustration by Lisa Zhou | design by Pallavi Singh

The coronavirus is a unique tragedy that has affected everyone. One of the most common ways people have been impacted has been through social distancing policies, which prevent most forms of social interaction.

Over time, these orders have left many feeling isolated without access to their friends or support systems. College students in particular were affected as campuses closed and classes moved online. During social isolation, many have had to find creative ways to reach out to old friends and find new ones.

SOCIAL DISTANCING CROSSES THE INTERNET Duncan Okes is a Human-Centered Computing graduate who was working through his last year when the pandemic hit.

“Just keeping up some sort of social normalcy is important, especially when I don’t really see that many people outside of my girlfriend,” Okes explained. “Having time communicating online helps to have social diversity which is really hard to have otherwise.”

One of the ways Okes has spent this time has been through games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which he started playing the night it came out and has not stopped since.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons came out on March 20, 2020, just at the right time to engross thousands entering quarantine. The game has since gained a massive following, serving as an outlet for many.

Despite the harm that the pandemic has caused, it has also given people a lot of free time that they don’t know what to do with. For

6 Technology

some, this has led to finding new hobbies or pursuing old ones, while to Okes that also meant reliving old connections.

“I didn’t really play too much online at first ... as [coronavirus] went on I started finding other people,” Okes said. “My brother is really into it, and I’m talking to him way more than I normally do.”

Animal Crossing was something the two shared as kids. Okes and his brother, alongside other groups, now run something of a stock market. They all get together to compare prices and information in an attempt to game the system.

While Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been the new game to bring in many fans, a much older game has provided a source of enjoyment for many at RIT.

CRAFTING COMMUNITY Victor Anderson was an Electrical Engineering Technology student who graduated in the spring of 2020. He has sought to keep in contact with many of his friends through online communities.

“It allows us to keep in touch with each other even with this social distancing going on and helps alleviate the social itch,” Anderson said.

Alongside running a Discord with friends to keep in contact, Anderson plays Minecraft, a game he has been involved with since middle school. Anderson was working with the tech crew on campus when they heard about a project to recreate RIT’s campus utilizing Minecraft.

“When a bunch of us heard about this and

that they were starting with the SAU, where we work out of, a bunch of us ended up hopping on the first day,” Anderson said.

The project, sponsored by the Electronic Gaming Society and involving more than 300 RIT students, is an effort to recreate RIT’s campus block by block using existing maps and floorplans. While it is primarily meant as an outlet for students during the pandemic, there have been suggestions to host a virtual graduation ceremony using the student build campus.

Since joining, Anderson has done work whenever he gets the time, building parts from Ingle Auditorium to the Gordon Field House and Activities Center (GOR) and Monroe Hall.

As of May 2020, the project had completed everything between the GOR and the Liberal Arts Hall with a new structure being completed each week.

“The big thing is helping to give people a chance to still visit RIT in a way and still join the campus,” Anderson explained. “The goal is to bring people together, to give them a common task outside of classes.”

STAYING CONNECTED Many students turned to online communities when physical gatherings weren’t possible anymore. This interaction helped many to stay social and escape reminders of COVID-19.

“Mostly an escape is the biggest thing, [Animal Crossing] is immersive and easy to get lost in,” Okes explained. “Even on Reddit, everyone is always talking about COVID, sometimes it’s nice to get away from that.”

To that end, Okes still tries to maintain contact with his campus club, User Experience, which transitioned to Discord once Corona hit.

The platform provided a safe place where they

could discuss club activities and their experiences in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Online communities also serve to connect you with others. For those in isolated regions or with niche interests, you’re certain to find your interests reciprocated in one of these spaces.

While Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been the new game to bring in many fans, a much older game has provided a source of enjoyment for many at RIT. While many have temporarily flocked to online spaces due to the pandemic, the shift might be longer term.

“They’re [RIT] talking about maybe coming back in a hybrid way with very limited grouping, I do worry about losing a social aspect,”

While physical spaces are temporary, the online friends and communities we build now are always accessible. While online platforms often garner a bad reputation, they have recently become widely normalized and accepted out of necessity.

“Online interaction tends to get a bad look,” Anderson explained. “Now, we’re able to use this online gaming and this connection to still interact with each other, and it’s getting a lot more of a positive twist.”

While by no means a replacement for physical socialization, online communities have provided us with different ways to stay engaged while remaining safe and are worth a look into if you haven’t yet.

“IT ALLOWS US TO KEEP IN TOUCH WITH EACH OTHER EVEN WITH THIS SOCIAL DISTANCING GOING ON AND HELPS ALLEVIATE THE SOCIAL ITCH.”

Technology 7

A NIGHT At THE MOVIES

by Tommy Delp | illustration by Michael Smith | design by Neil Williamson In 1905, the first movie theater opened in Pittsburg, Pa. In 1929, mere weeks before the beginning of The Great Depression, Rochester’s own independent cinema, The Little Theatre, opened. In early 2020, theaters across the world shuttered due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“

All this time though, The Little has stood firm, a reminder of the staying power of cinema. The Little, along with other movie theater experiences, help us to understand how film brings us together, even during times of great hardship.

WHY CINEMA REMAINS STRONG Often, people point to streaming services as the future of film. However, there are many parts of the theatrical experience you miss though when you stream a movie directly to your living room.

Some movies are just built to be seen on the big screen, because of that, there will

”

always be a place

That is nowhere more apparent than at a place like The Little. Scott Pukos is the public relations and social media coordinator for the theater.

“We call it ‘The Little Experience.’ It’s more than movies; it’s a discussion and an atmosphere," Pukos said.

Gord Hotchkiss, an expert in online behavior, notes the difference between singular and group viewing experiences. Watching a movie with a crowd of people, just as excited as you are, can have a positive impact on your recollection of the film. You will remember watching a big event movie in theaters, even if you can’t separate all the times you’ve watched it at home afterwards.

The other theatergoers play a surprisingly important role in this. While you’re bound to interact with some popcorn munchers and chatty Cathies here or there, the human element really ties together the theater going experience.

de

Making art local Places like The Little help to provide a more personal experience for a theatergoer. Closer to home, CAB Cinema is a great example of how to make movies community driven.

Even on a local scale, movies can help to bring us together. Watching the latest blockbuster or Oscar winner may not seem like a bonding experience, but CAB Cinema allows

8 Leisure

no yo wh

you to meet people on campus that you never would have otherwise.

Just like CAB Cinema does for campus, The Little provides value to the greater area. Pukos believes it is “uniquely Rochester.” He also added that The Little is about more than entertainment. It’s also a part of Rochester’s culture itself.

Along with showings movies, The Little is a great place for locals. The atmosphere in the theater and attached cafe is relaxed, and you can often find local bands or organizations holding events there.

This feeling stretches to even the biggest movie theater chains, as they often find themselves as local hubs, especially for the younger generation. While each of the experiences mentioned above are different, they each provide the same thing, a sense of fun and community.

“When you’re watching a movie, you’re not focused on what’s happening around you. It can take your mind off things for a while,” Cody said.

Whether we use this power as an escape or driving force, is up to us. The potential is in our hands, and that’s part of what makes them so special.

Put simply, movies can help people to destress.

Pukos believes that this “is really what art is all about. [Films] can spark curiosity, they can outrage us or they can entertain us.” Giving someone the capacity to choose though, is what’s really empowering.

This is what most people watch movies for. Good or bad, they can provide a necessary distraction during a stressful day or week. With such a vast amount of content

“[Films] can spark

curiosity, they can

outrage us or they can

“When you’re watching a movie, you’re ot focused on what’s happening around ou. It can take your mind off things for a hile,” Cody said.

entertain

Put simply, movies can help people to estress.

us.”

How movies bring us together In times of hardship, people often rely on art to help them cope. That may partially be the reason people miss theaters so dearly when they’re unable to visit them. Luckily, the movies themselves hold a lot of that power too.

available, it’s easy to find a movie specifically suited to your taste or mood.

Looking for a pick-me-up? There are tons of classic feel-good movies to pick from.

Want something scary? Hollywood has been churning out monster flicks since the beginning.

On a greater scale, movies help us to imagine realities outside of our own.

While everything else may seem out of your control, your understanding and choice of film is uniquely situated to your life and experiences. Over the years, movies and movie theaters have adapted to your tastes and preferences, not the other way around. This is how places like The Little have lasted so long. Pukos is certain that theaters like The Little will continue to do so.

“Cinema is vital, and it’s something we will keep doing, whether virtual or in person,” Pukos said.

Leisure 9

W

hen we wake up in the morning, we never know what the day might bring or what hurdles we might need to jump through. People don’t wake up expecting to know they will experience a loss and have to grieve. We can’t predict when times of loss will hit, but we can take steps to lessen the effects.

by Brooke Wolfenbarger | illustration and design by Pallavi Singh

10 Features

College can be a stressful time for students because there’s so much going on. The last thing that a student needs is adding loss to the equation, which can make life even harder, especially if they are far from home.

MANY KINDS OF LOSSES Grieving looks different for everyone and there isn’t just one kind of loss a person can go through. Brian Barry, an associate professor in the psychology and sociology department, teaches the course Death and Dying and explained some other types of loss that people, especially students, go through.

“Most of us when we think about loss are thinking about one kind which is to have something and no longer have it,” he said.

According to Barry, there are two other types of loss that people can go through, but it is important to keep in mind that all types of losses are different and you can’t compare the impacts.

Barry states, “Expect to get something and then not get it ... if you get what you want but it’s disappointing,” as other kinds of losses people can go through.

Whether you lose a close family member, do well at a job interview and don’t get the job or you’re at college, but the experience is changed in some way that doesn’t meet your expectations — any type of loss can have a heavy impact on a person, especially a student.

THE PROCESS There are five common steps that go along with grieving: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Dallas Calkins, a third year Film and Animation student, lost a grandparent and experienced these steps.

“Everybody grieves differently, everybody feels differently,” she explained.

One person’s experience will not be the same as another person’s, which leads to a different process of grieving. For Calkins, grieving was not instantaneous and it took her a while to cope.

“It took me about two weeks to really really understand what was happening,” Calkins said. “It took me a while to accept that it was happening at all and when I finally did I never really understood the denial part of grief until then.”

Addressing the feelings that you are going through during a time of loss is important. Part of that process could happen in one of two ways or even a combination of both; with a solid support system by your side or some independent time to process and grieve. For Calkins, it was both of those things.

DIFFERENT SUPPORT SYSTEMS Distance from home during a time of loss can be difficult for students because they are away from their families, which can be a big support system. However, college gives students ways to find other support systems that they can lean on when needed.

Barry believes, “Students typically develop a support system on campus that can in many cases be superior to the one at home.”

There can be a lot of reasons why and Barry believes one of those reasons could be a student’s parents.

Parents, at times, may not take student’s problems seriously or take them too seriously, which makes stu-

Students typically develop a support system on campus that can in many cases be superior to the one at home. dents reach out to their peers.

Even though Calkins was home when she experienced her loss, she found a lot of support within her friend group from school.

“They were extremely supportive,” Calkins said. “A couple of my other friends reached out to me and they just wanted to make sure that I was okay and everything was going well.”

It’s not just important to know how to grieve, but it’s important to know how to be a supportive friend.

It is crucial to listen and to be a helping hand, whether it be a shoulder to cry on or just giving them space. Every person is different when it comes to grieving, so each scenario will require a different level of support.

There are some who need time to themselves to process and try to understand the loss they are going through. Calkins also fell into this category.

“Sometimes I think that being alone is what really helps me to deal with how I feel about a situation,” Calkins explained.

Whatever way you grieve the key is to make sure that the ways are healthy and won’t hurt you more.

It is important to understand that whatever you are going through will not last forever. There was a time that you weren’t feeling sad and overwhelmed and that feeling will come back, but it is important to keep in mind the feeling of loss will always be with you in some sense.

KEEP IN MIND Barry put it pretty simply when he said, “You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t [let it bother you].”

Grief and loss are a part of life and you never know when you are going to experience it, so it is good to be prepared for when it does. Whether you are at college or at home with your family, having a support system or even two will be very beneficial.

Calkins had a big takeaway from her experience.

“Try not to run from the feeling, let yourself feel it ... feel it when you can and work through it as soon as possible,” she said.

Not having weight on your shoulders is always a good thing. It is important to keep in mind that people around you are there to help. Professors are there to work with you during these times to make sure you are still succeeding, while also keeping your mental health up.

Whether it is being with friends, being alone or even keeping a journal, there are lots of ways to get through any kind of loss.

Try not to run from the feeling, let yourself feel it.

Features 11

WORKING “IN”

by Anika Talia Griffiths | Photograph by Rachel Kogut | design by Jiayi Zheng

“You can’t underestimate the power that being physically active has on your “You can’t health. understimate the power that being physically active has on your mental health.” mental ”

M

aking more time for the gym was probably one of your 2020 resolutions; but if you’re honest, you probably haven’t been there since mid-January. No need to worry, it turns out that gyms are overrated. Anyone can build strength and endurance in the comfort of their own homes and communities. All they really need is a bit of creativity and a little motivation from their friends.

Home Sweaty Home According to Healthline.com, working out at home has several benefits. Unlike Clark Gym, your bedroom and living room

12 Wellness

don’t have opening or closing hours; you can decide to workout at any time you feel is best for you. You also cut out the hassle of getting to the gym, which can be up to 15 minutes for commuter students. Finally, you get to have your privacy and dress comfortably while you exercise and stretch.

The treadmills in Clark gym can get monotonous pretty quickly. Running along Andrews Memorial Drive, however, grants plenty of opportunities to appreciate mother nature as you build endurance. The same can go for biking. Taking a brisk walk on the nature trails behind August Center can be a good way to keep active without overexerting yourself. For those who pre-

fer yoga, Fountain Park and Greek Lawn offer lots of open green space.

If you really don’t want to leave the house, plenty of professional yoga, Pilates and weight training instructors post videos on their social media platforms for free.

“There are lots of things you can do using no equipment at all. There are body weight workouts, there are several digital applications that are free … that you can do in your house, that you can do in your yard,” said adjunct wellness instructor Michelle Wilcox.

Wilcox went on to share a workout technique that can be done at home without equipment.

“There’s something called Tabata-style workouts. Usually it’s 20 minutes or 10 minutes and you go pretty intensely. So, you’ll do intervals. You’ll do 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest. If you can get your workout that way… those things are still going to go a long way in keeping your fitness up,” she said.

Such a workout can be done effectively in small spaces and can consist of body weight squats, push-ups and jumping jacks.

If you are looking to purchase a bit of equipment to use at home, adjunct wellness instructor Molly Gavin has some recommendations. “[Resistance bands] are so versatile, you can use them for pretty much every single body part. They’re very inexpensive and they’re easy to use. Stability balls are good, but they take up a lot of space … And I think a kettlebell is always a great addition to anybody’s repertoire because they’re pretty versatile as well,” she said.

Gavin also mentioned that a couple of dumbbells are always useful, even if they’re light.

Whether you have equipment or not, there are workout options to help build up and maintain one’s fitness level.

ly helpful. Other than inviting a gym buddy over, you can also video chat. Even better, you can look for fitness instructors offering online classes. That way, you remain comfy at home, but still have people to hold you accountable or give you feedback.

“I’ve seen a ton of people doing zoom workouts where they get a group of their friends together and they take a class. So, they’ll be watching an instructor on a social media platform and they’re all in a chat room together on a zoom call,” said Gavin.

Way after the pandemic ends, these fun ideas will still be pretty genius. So, keep these in mind.

Positivity, Sweat and Tears Both Wilcox and Gavin pointed out the importance of maintaining an exercise regimen.

“One thing that I have said to my own kids too is: you can’t underestimate the power that being physically active has on your mental health,” said Wilcox. “Prioritizing and doing something movement based every day — even if it’s just going for a walk or taking 20 minutes to look for something online to do — is so important to keeping your mental health…”

According to Gavin, exercise is a natural mood booster and stress reducer. Working out is credited for building strength and improving physicality. However, it can also give someone a better attitude throughout their day.

These emotionally uplifting benefits happen regardless of where or how you exercise. So, don’t feel bad for skipping the gym. Just grab a couple friends, some milk jugs, and do a quick YouTube search. Your living room works just fine.

“I have people using wine bottles, I have them using soup cans … backpacks filled with books,” said Gavin about the students in her classes during strength Thinking Outside the PLYO Box building exercises.”

When gyms were shut down at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people were pushed to find new ways to stay healthy. What they learned is that everyday items around the house, and even some household furniture, can be useful during workouts.

“I have people using wine bottles, I have them using soup cans … backpacks filled with books,” said Gavin about the students in her classes during strength building exercises.

She continued, “Even if you’re somebody that likes to do running but it’s raining outside, you can run up and down your stairs. I’ve been known to use a chair ... where I can do tricep dips or elevated push-ups, step ups, things like that.”

Besides these cool new ways of getting some reps in, there have also been new ways of keeping up with a gym buddy. Gym buddies are friends that exercise with you and know how to motivate you during a workout, so that you continue to build your strength and endurance. If you find it hard to push through your workouts, consider reaching out to someone for support. According to Wilcox, being alone or feeling isolated can lead people to lose their motivation to exercise. So, if you’re working out at home, support from a friend is especial-

Wellness 13

WOTS illustration by Sara Calhoun

HOW HAS THE DIGITAL WORLD AFFECTED

REALITY?

14 Views

RINGS

September 2020 compiled by Tyler English photoillustration & design by Lily Garnaat

“It’s so ugly that it’s cool.” - June 6, 2020, 9:28AM “Damn I never thought I’d miss Ebola” - April 25, 2020, 9:46PM

“My chicken is still stuck in the elevator” - April 27, 2020, 2:32PM “I feel sweaty and gross and I liv e in an Easy Bake Oven” - May 27

, 2020, 12:19PM

“God gave me depression because if my ambitions went unchecked I would have bested him in hand-to-hand combat by age 16” - April 23, 2020, 8:40AM

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