Jackson Kulacz
Equinox Staff
The KSC Outing Club shows signs of inactivity due to COVID-19 constraints, but there is strong optimism for the future.
As with virtually every club offered here at Keene, the struggle with COVID-19 has made daily operation persistently tedious with each passing day– some more than others. Hopes for the end of the pandemic are rising as warmer weather approaches, but the damage remains. In the case of the KSC Outing Club, it got the short end of the stick.
Before COVID-19, however, the situation was much different. The acting advisor, Dr. Christopher Brehme, gave a brief introduction, stating, “We were trying to create an academic outdoor recreation program within geography. We felt the outing club should be more closely associated with the (environmental studies) department.”
As for Abigail Touchet, the president, it was not all for the academic approach. “Basically, it’s just a group of people who like to spend time outside, or at least be outside more.” Touchet continued, listing the prominent trips of the past– rock climbing, hikes, even surfing, to name a few. Their history has roots that originate somewhere in the range of the late 2000s to 2010.
With the emergence of COVID-19, the Outing Club was one of the dozens of clubs turned on their heads. The travel restrictions that fell into place prevented any of the commonplace long-distance adventures the club organized. According to Touchet, it “was stuck in a five-mile radius” around the campus, a measure that severely handicapped their outreach. As such, the rug had been ripped out from under them, as the club could not perform the regular activities it cherished. “We just couldn’t do it,” she concluded.
Attempts were made to make contact with other members, but due to the dormancy, they were unsuccessful.
After this past year, and the pandemic slowly simmering, the long-term determinants remain. Brehme highlighted the long-term repercussions of the pandemic, saying, “Given the challenges around COVID, I’m afraid we haven’t been able to do much.” While the coronavirus remains a prominent danger, both Brehme and Touchet hinted that the hiatus would continue, at least in the short term.
But that begs the question: what will happen when COVID is gone? For Brehme, the answer was quite simple, “I think there’s a great deal of potential to get students involved in outdoor recreation for fun and as a career path.”
Touchet, when asked, expressed her optimism for a resurgence of the grander journeys of the past. But does that mean it will return to what it was before? “That’s the plan,” she confirmed with a nod of confidence.
When the Outing Club reemerges from its slumber, there will be more than enough space for those who wish to explore the world. As Brehme concluded, he showed his aspirations for the future, hoping that others “can get more involved in the Outing Club as things return to normal in the fall.” In that, anyone who wants an adventure may only need a few more months before the club returns to the stage after its period of slumber.
Jackson Kulacz can be contacted at:
jkulacz@kscequinox.com
