Photos Courtesy Association of Latino Professionals For America
Fernanda Figueroa | THE RIDER
Not only are most classes moving online this semester, but also due to the coronavirus pandemic, all UTRGV student organizations will be operating virtually this semester, university officials say.
Events, meetings and fundraisers will not be allowed to be held in person on campus and should be held virtually through Zoom, Skype and/or Microsoft Teams, said April Muñoz, Student Organization program coordinator.
“As of right now, organizations do need to operate 100 percent virtual until further notice,” Muñoz said.
She said her office is contacting student organizations.
“We are letting them know we are excited for the fall semester although it is going to look different,” Muñoz said. “Nothing is going to be put into a hold, just going to have to be realigned.”
For student organizations, operating in a 100% virtual capacity is new but the transition to online during the spring semester has helped ease the process.
“With everything that happened in the spring and when we started … we had the plans ahead of time,” signed Rodrigo Uresti, president of the American Sign Language (ASL) Club. “We learned a lot from spring and now we are using Zoom for our members so they can also learn.”
With this transition a lot of student organizations are relying heavily on social media platforms to help increase their recruitment and even reach out to others outside the university.
“Social media has been with us before the pandemic, but we use it more often now,” said Julian Gallegos, vice president Internal of the Association of Latino Professionals for America. “We post our events, we make sure people hear about it through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn.”
Muñoz encourages student organizations and students to attend the virtual involvement fairs held by the Leadership and Mentoring Office through VLink. Organizations can use this opportunity to engage students and recruit them.
“Overall, we are just trying to keep our organizations motivated and encouraged to keep operating,” Muñoz said.
For information about specific organizations and their events, visit https://utrgv.campuslabs.com/engage/.
–Ana Lillia Hernandez, ASL Club vice president, helped interpret
Photos Courtesy Association of Latino Professionals For America
