After BYU–Hawaii transitioned to remote learning, club presidents said they had to adapt to new changes by making their club events online. In doing so, some said they found new opportunities to get student engagement despite remote learning for the Fall 2020 Semester, while others said online learning made it impossible for them to keep their club going.
The Pre-Law Society president, Terrence Dela Peña, a senior from the Philippines majoring in political science, said it was difficult to transition from in-person to online club events.
According to Dela Peña, “We didn’t plan anything for March when [BYUH] announced there were no longer going to be physical classes.” He said the Pre-Law Society leaders were forced to figure out how the club would transition in the Spring 2020 Semester with remote learning.
Dela Peña said, “The first thing we thought about was doing all our events online via Zoom.”
Similarly, other clubs had to adapt to online. Brandon Thomas, the Latin American Club president, said, “A lot of our activities for Latin America Club are very in-person based, [with] food, dance, sports whatever it may be. It usually requires us to be together.”
“With the coronavirus, we had to adapt. As leaders in general, the most important part of an organization or a club is the people involved,” Thomas, a sophomore from Las Vegas majoring in computer science, said.
Despite not being able to meet in person and share the experience of Latin American culture with the students, Thomas said the club can still do activities over Zoom, including playing games online.
Not all student clubs are continuing in Fall 2020, including the Melanesia Club. According to Melanesia club’s president Edmund Saksak, a senior from Vanuatu majoring in political science, “The pandemic made the semester a lot more stressful and busier than normal. Students don’t like online activities. Some like online games, and some don’t.”
The Melanesia Club was going to do online meetings, but according to Saksak, there was “so much stress from the school itself. Students who are still on campus felt like they’re forced to accept everything.”