Despite the challenges of the pandemic, students founded new clubs and organizations in the virtual environment.
Because of the unprecedented nature of the pandemic, new clubs and organizations faced unique experiences recruiting members, building a sense of community and hosting events. Fall quarter will be the first opportunity for many of these new student organizations to hold in-person recruitment, meetings and events.
Throughout the pandemic, student organizations have innovated new ways to recruit members in a virtual setting.
Shefali Varma, president of Project Lux – a student-led organization connecting health care and homelessness – said she founded the club in winter quarter 2020 but started recruiting members once UCLA transitioned to an online format. Varma, a fourth-year molecular, cell and developmental biology student, said Project Lux successfully recruited around 30 members through social media with the help of professors who emailed information about the club to their students.
Pediatric Research Organization, an intercollegiate network founded in the spring, also recruited members over social media and with the help of professors, said Anil Chaganti, a second-year molecular, cell and developmental biology student and co-founder of Pediatric Research Organization.
Many student organizations anticipate recruiting members for the 2021-2022 academic year both online and in person.
Project Lux tentatively plans on attending the Enormous Activities Fair, a showcase for hundreds of student organizations and resources, distributing flyers on campus, marketing through social media and reaching out to professors who may be willing to share information about Project Lux with their classes, Varma said.
Little Librarians, a student-run organization bringing reading and STEM experiments to children in underserved communities, will also recruit new members in a hybrid format at the beginning of the 2021-2022 academic year, said external directors Sarah Bui and Gillian Ozawa.
Bui said that Little Librarians, which was established in spring, plans on participating in the EAF and will hold informational sessions. Little Librarians has been able to meet with new students online during virtual new student orientations throughout the summer, Ozawa, a fourth-year neuroscience student, added.
Recruiting new members is only one aspect of running a student organization. New clubs also will have to navigate operating in a hybrid environment for the first time since their founding.
To operate on campus fall quarter, student organizations will have to abide by all Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and UCLA COVID-19 public health guidelines, said UCLA spokesperson Ricardo Vazquez in an emailed statement.
The University requires all UC faculty, staff and students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before returning to campus in the fall. UCLA will also require all student organizations and their members to follow mask mandates, mandatory COVID-19 testing and required symptom monitoring surveys in order to host meetings and events on campus.
During the return to in-person learning, all registered campus organizations will have a Student Organizations, Leadership and Engagement advisor to support them, Vazquez added in the emailed statement.
“A challenge is that we have finite space and resources and almost 1,400 registered campus organizations that want to make up for four quarters of (online) programming time,” Vazquez said.
Bui, a fourth-year molecular, cell and developmental biology student, said she sees some benefits of Little Librarians holding virtual events because the online format allowed the club to reach a broad range of kids from different schools. Bui added that she is excited for the return to in-person events, but Little Librarians may not have been able to interact with as many students in an in-person environment.
Varma said operating Project Lux in an online environment was an overall positive experience, but she looks forward to the challenge of transitioning to a hybrid or in-person model in the future.
“We’ve gotten to know each other really well … (but) it’s not as well as we would have gotten to know each other in person,” Varma said.
Although new student organizations are excited to meet in person for the first time, they have created contingency plans to ensure the safety of all members.
Bui said Little Librarians would like to hold in-person events at schools and offer tours to the kids who Little Librarians works with, but these plans will depend on public health guidelines.
“I definitely do see some logistic issues and planning problems, … but I think we’re prepared,” Ozawa said.
