Amidst newly-introduced guidelines and mask mandates, CAB is anticipating another successful year of events on campus.
CAB is led by Danie Adams and Kelsi Allen. Adams and Allen have been tasked with planning new events and reorganizing old events to comply with the regulations on campus.
Adams, who is also the assistant director of student engagement on campus, explained how CAB went about planning events for campus this year given the circumstances.
“This year, we are really focusing on the safety of our campus community while also having fun at our events,” she said. “We hope to have somewhat similar events to what we’ve had in the past, but are working to try new events that ensure social distancing as well.”
Allen, who serves as the student engagement graduate assistant, explained how the issue of COVID-19 on campus has played a large role in the planning process and the introduction of new events.
“I have always enjoyed the challenge of planning events and the hilarious stories that come out of them,” Allen said. “However, this year’s expectations and new safety protocols have definitely added new layers of challenges and struggles than previous years. With every possible activity on campus that our team plans, we have to consider not only our usual details of event planning, but the space limitations, the weather and all of the COVID guidelines which has limited many of our traditional campus events.”
The new protocols have affected most areas of campus, but CAB faces the unique challenge of planning large events during a time when big groups of people are heavily discouraged. Despite the challenges of planning campus-wide events around these new protocols, Adams remains upbeat about her role in CAB and on campus.
“Having the opportunity to plan events still is such a huge blessing to me,” said Adams. “Throughout this whole time of reassessing, we have known that things would have to change but we also know how important events are on a college campus. Having engaging student activities is such a large part of the student experience and so we were thankful that we are able to do some events as planned.”
Kayleigh Buike, a member of CAB, shared her thoughts on the significance of continued CAB events on campus.
“I think that right now, CAB actually has the opportunity to play an even more significant role than it has in the past,” said Buike. “We are living in such a crazy time that has drastically altered campus life. I think that CAB will offer some stability in what may feel like an unstable time, not to mention that we offer events that are fun, and times to unwind, and relax and laugh with your friends. That is something we can all use while we navigate throughout this year.”
So far this year, CAB has held two campus events: Disco, Donuts and Golf Carts, an event centered around giving donuts away from golf carts in the valley, and Coffee and Canvas, a painting course led by Caroline States. Movie on the Lawn, an event that is considered a tradition at the start of each school year, had to be rescheduled due to inclement weather.
Despite the early successes CAB has had, Adams is aware that a contingency plan is needed in case campus closes down due to COVID.
“We are working to plan some virtual events for students if the time comes where we must close campus or if classes go online,” Adams explained. “We’re hoping to have some trivia nights, game nights and other various activities throughout the semester if need be.”
However, Adams remains hopeful that a contingency plan is not needed. She explained that CAB has pressed on with working out new ways to connect with campus, something which she hopes to be able to do for the rest of the semester.
“We’d love to hear what students are looking for event-wise when it comes to this different and ever-changing year,” said Adams. “Look out for our new CAB newsletter for new news and exciting events coming up this year. We are planning to have this instead of our normal stall talks. We can’t wait to connect with the students of AU in meaningful and engaging ways.”