Keene State College continues to make opportunities for community service and involvement available to students despite the unprecedented public health crisis and its effect on students’ outlook this semester.
Coordinator of Community Services in the KSC Office of Student Involvement Jessica Gagne Cloutier confirmed the college has only cancelled one major community event this semester: the annual Community Service Day first-year students participate in upon arrival.
“This is a complex event with close to 1,000 volunteers annually, and with COVID-19, it was not possible to host it,” she explained.
Cloutier stated that other community services avenues scheduled for the fall semester still occurred as intended, just with social distancing implemented and face masks required for participants. This includes the regular blood drives in September and November, the Walk To End Alzheimer’s and Source-To-Sea Clean-Up at Beaver Brook, the latter two both of which took place on September 26.
Cloutier went on to highlight the number of events allowing KSC students to engage with their community, including student organizations, weekly trivia and games and employment at the campus’s student center. “We’re working on additional events and programs and will continue to share information with students through the Student Involvement Facebook page, digital billboards and the News and Events Calendar,” she said.
“I’m excited to see what participation looks like over the semester, but we had really great turnout for fraternity and sorority recruitment, our blood drive was a success and we’re seeing new faces at bingo and trivia every week,” Cloutier said.
She described the demeanor of the campus as lively and reported that the Student Activities Council (SAC) sees a regular student turnout for events such as crafts and gardening.
Student Involvement hosted lawn games outside the student center on September 25, with music, snacks and games encouraging students to get out and mingle with their community. Brandon Carta, the Student Center Program Coordinator and advisor to the Student Activities Council, oversaw the day’s event and provided free ‘Klean Keys’ to students, plastic handles for opening doors, carrying bags and other tasks meant to help prevent the spread of germs.
Carta confirmed most community service ventures at KSC depend on the efforts of student organizations.
“They’re able to meet in person as long as they’re distancing and wearing masks,” he said. “So, a lot of groups are starting to schedule space and events.”
Carta mentioned KSC has over 50 organizations and clubs formed by students, including a number of public interest groups. He described how events open to student involvement as tending to receive strong amounts of interest among the community and that activities on campus see hundreds of students volunteering to participate.
Valerie Mamish, a team leader at the Night Owl Café, confirmed that the trivia and bingo games hosted on campus have changed from in-person meetings to a virtual format to reduce physical contact, which she feels changes the mood and atmosphere of the events. “I’m optimistic that students will stay involved with the community. I just think with the first couple weeks, people have to adjust to the different setting,” she said.
Carta echoed Mamish’s statement on the atmosphere, mentioning how the activity on campus and interest in the community began to surge after students spent their first few weeks back settling in and resuming a sense of normalcy.
Lonnie Hiltz can be contacted at:
lhiltz@kscequinox.com
