Silver Linings
JOINING IN
Student clubs and organizations survive and thrive through a challenging year
Every year, the International Film Club curates an International Film Festival which highlights art from around the world to give the Trinity community an opportunity to learn more about various cultures and historical events that they may have never learned about. This event usually takes place inside of Trinity’s Academic Building in World Language classrooms. However, adjustments had to be made this time around due to the COVID-19 protocols. “In order to overcome logistical challenges, we had to reformat our original plan for the festival and convert our physical resources to digital ones,” said Rebecca Short ’21, student-leader of the club. “We made a website and a virtual brochure and also decided to host the festival over Netflix Party,” said Short. Other clubs such as the Sci-Fi Club have used the platform too. “We were really excited about having the chat feature, which would allow students to interact during the films, and that students could join the festival from anywhere and still receive the cultural enrichment that is such a key part of the Film Festival,” said Short. The International Film Festival helps bring awareness about the world around us, allowing students to share their thoughts and discuss different topics — something that makes Trinity such an inviting and warm place.
10
SPRING 2021
The Film Festival is just one of many examples of how Trinity’s student-led clubs have overcome the significant logistical challenges of the pandemic to keep traditions alive while building and maintaining community. Clubs and activities have always been a strong piece of the Trinity community but they have grown to be even stronger during the pandemic. With events and gatherings limited, clubs have become the way to stay in touch and interact with students around campus outside of the classroom. With Trinity’s parallel instruction model, students have been very creative and innovative to keep everyone engaged in person as well as virtually. Many clubs have turned to platforms like Google Classroom, Zoom and Remind to communicate and collaborate. At the beginning of the year, there is usually a huge Club Fair in the Auxiliary Gym, with music, costumes and huge poster boards encouraging students to sign up for as many clubs as possible. This year, students created and shared clever videos, testimonials and Google Classroom codes each morning in virtual Morning Meeting to drum up interest. In some ways, the virtual formats have made club participation more accessible to students. “It has been impressive to see how committed club leaders are to continuing their work even with challenges like shorter meeting times and hybrid meeting formats,” said Laura Hamlin Weiler ’00, head of community engagement. “The students drove these adaptations and were quite innovative”
