After a year long hiatus, Hofstra-recognized club and organization are permitted to resume in-person meetings and events at a limited capacity. Previously, clubs and organizations were meeting virtually over Zoom. // Collage courtesy of M45 – Women’s Ultimate Frisbee Twitter, Hofstra Ad Club Instagram and transcenDANCE Twitter

Hofstra University’s Office of Student Leadership and Engagement sent out a mass email to the student body on Wednesday, Feb. 24, with an announcement that “Hofstra-recognized clubs and organizations will now be able to request space and resources for limited in-person meetings/events.” The applications to request space have been opened since Monday, March 1. This comes almost a year after the University shut down due to the pandemic.

“Because of the hard work of the entire campus community following the University’s health and safety protocols, as well as improving public health conditions, including access to vaccines and a drop in infection rates, we felt it was the appropriate time to allow student clubs and organizations to hold limited in-person events, ,” said Samantha Kloeckener-Soszynski, assistant director of the Office of Student Leadership and Engagement.

The designated spaces for in-person events are located in the Mack Student Center. They include the Cultural Center Theater, the multi-purpose room and the Student Center Theater. Students will still be required to wear masks and remain socially distant during in-person events. Additionally, the students will not be allowed to move any furniture. For the entire duration of all events and meetings, a current staff or faculty member will be required to be present to ensure that students maintain safety guidelines.

As of right now, there is not a limited number of in-person events that can be held by a club or organization for this spring semester. “Because this is a pilot program, [we] don’t yet know what the response will be,” Kloeckener-Soszynski said. “That is something we will monitor weekly to determine if we need to set a limit on the number of events a student organization can host.”

Some students have positive expectations, seeing this as a move that will bring some balance back to the Hofstra campus.

 “As a student, I think it’s cool to see that Hofstra is taking the safe step to bring us back to a sense of normalcy,” said Will Germaine, a sophomore biochemistry major. “It’ll be good for clubs that need to be in-person and definitely boost morale on campus.”

Michael Coursen, a sophomore video and television major, agrees that in-person programming returning to Hofstra is a good thing. “Hofstra has done a good job when it comes to safety procedures, and I know they will continue to keep us safe,” he said. “We just need to be smart … as members of [the] Hofstra community to ensure that these events can run safely and effectively.”

However, others have mixed emotions about on-campus events.

“It’s nice that the school is doing more in-person events for clubs and organizations on campus, but I am a bit on edge when hearing about it,” said freshman public relations major Egan Bello.

Bello said the pandemic has affected first-year’s experience since college has not operated in a typical setting. “The freshmen have had to be so distant since the start of our college experiences, so it’s going to be very strange when we finally get to start to socialize and do events more normally,” he said. “I also just hope that this isn’t rushed, because we have all been trying so hard to try to lower the COVID cases, so I hope the trend continues to go down.”

Club sports will now also officially be able to hold weekly one-hour practices. However, they must adhere to a separate policy and set of protocols that are enforced by Campus Recreation.

“Student clubs and organizations are an important part of our students’ college experiences and a key part of what makes Hofstra a vibrant place to live and learn,” Kloeckener-Soszynski said. “Throughout the pandemic, we’ve sought to strike a balance between stemming the spread of the virus and the desire for in-person social interaction.”

Kloeckener-Soszynski is hopeful that there will be a return to normalcy in the upcoming months as the University begins reopening. “We are optimistic that in the coming months, with more widely available vaccines and advances in medical practice, public health guidelines will allow us to continue opening up spaces and activities again,” she said. “But, as optimistic as we are, we must remain vigilant and continue to follow the advice of local, state and federal public health authorities about health and safety protocols, such as masking and social distancing.”

More information regarding the safety requirements for in-person events can be found on Hofstra’s Safe Start website.