Editor’s note: The list of current active clubs for the spring semester will be updated in this story when it is released by the Student Life office.
4/21/21 Update: The active club list is now available.
Online learning is leaving students with very little options to socialize as clubs and student organizations are starting to disappear.
Pre-pandemic, the Citrus student life website listed 29 clubs for students to join and connect with others.
However in the first few weeks of the spring semester, only 10 organizations have been active.
Student Life Supervisor Rosario Garcia recognizes that since the switch to distance learning, it has been a challenge for clubs and students to connect.
“It’s been difficult for the clubs to get students to join and then I’ve heard, too, that some students are having a hard time connecting with or finding clubs,” Garcia said.
Britney Harris, president of the Black Student Union, said her experience transitioning from in-person to online format has been a challenge. She attributes some of that challenge to students spending a majority of their time on Zoom for classes, making it harder for them to schedule more time on Zoom for extracurricular activities.
Jennifer Calderon, vice president of community services for the honor society Alpha Gamma Sigma, said that the initial transition to virtual did not affect member activity in the beginning but further into the experience member attendance fluctuates week to week.
In addition to these two organizations, eight more were confirmed active by Commissioner of Inter-Club Council Relations Uriah Jacob Lopez.
Lopez wrote in an email that honor society Phi Theta Kappa, Cheer Club, Anime Connection, Student Veterans of America, Political Science Student Association, Speech Club, Latinos Unidos Student Association and the Citrus Business Association have all been active in recent weeks.
Despite the struggles and hardships of the transition and maintaining activity online, the Black Student Union and Alpha Gamma Sigma have had to think of creative ways to not only engage their members, but also stay true to their organization’s goals.
Harris said that for the Black Student Union, communication has mostly switched off of Zoom and has transitioned to a group text where conversations cover a wide range of topics.
“In our group text we don’t just talk about school, we talk about all kinds of things: the world, rent-relief, the stimulus checks, all kinds of stuff, financial aid,” Harris says, noting that she used to work in financial aid. “So, we talk about that and turning in your FAFSA on time.”
In addition to the casual engagement of some group text conversations, the club is still focused on producing events.
Harris said their first spring semester event, “Being Black in Higher Education,” proved successful and they are currently planning fundraising events so their club can continue conducting other events.
Philanthropy and volunteer work for the community is at the core of Alpha Gamma Sigma. Calderon said that Alpha Gamma Sigma has had to think of creative ways to do their volunteer programs online.
Calderon said they recently participated in a letter writing effort aimed to provide hand written letters, or virtual cards, to be distributed to people with disabilities, children at St. Jude’s hospital, seniors and the Meals on Wheels program. The event also provided an opportunity for their members to engage with each other on a personal level through the online group format.
Last semester, Garcia said there were a lot of deactivations for many reasons. Some seemed to be related to the difficulties of being virtual.
Garcia said some clubs and their advisors felt they did not have the time to be an active club while taking classes online.
She said she understands the decision for some clubs to deactivate and is supportive if they choose to reactivate in spring or even wait until next fall.
Clubs that deactivated in the fall were given an opportunity to reactivate this semester.
Lopez said all clubs and organizations were given until midnight March 22 to file their club rosters and other filings to either retain their active status or to reactivate for the spring semester.
However, Garcia wrote in an email that some clubs and organizations needed extra time to file their forms, so they were given until March 29 to do so.
She also wrote that processing those forms is a time-consuming process and probably won’t have the club list updated until after Friday, April 2.
For more information on existing clubs and organizations, how to start your own club, as well as information to get involved with the Inter-Club Council, the body that manages student organizations, visit: https://www.citruscollege.edu/stdntsrv/studentaffairs/ascc/clubs/Pages/default.aspx
Reporter’s note: Vidal was a member of Alpha Gamma Sigma and Phi Theta Kappa between 2015-2017, but currently is not an active member.
