Issue 5_The SpringHillian_Fall2020

The SpringHillian

Volume 112, Issue 5 Thursday, November 19, 2020

SHC’s Spring Plans for Handling COVID

BessMorgan Baluyut

Reporter

Spring Hill College’s Vice President of Student Affairs, Kevin Abel said the college is in midst of the second wave of COVID-19 while continuing to plan for the spring semester.

Abel said that currently, “we are in the midst of the second wave. That is what we are hearing from our medical experts. We are very concerned about what that may mean in December and January. I anticipate we start next semester with similar guidelines that we have now. I don’t anticipate that it will be too different from where we’re operating now, but that certainly could change.”

He spoke about COVID-19 testing next semester, “At the end of this calendar year, the CARES Act funding that Alabama has graciously given colleges and universities is running out. We have been able to access a large number of tests to get our athletes back on the field and keep them competing. Sentinel testing will still continue through the Spring semester. We want to make sure we’re testing on a weekly basis,

random samples of our population.”

Abel, continued, “We will also be testing students as they go through Greek recruitment. So anyone going through Greek recruitment either as a recruit or as a current member will be tested prior to that time. So we are trying to sure up some things from a testing standpoint that folks who are participating in those situations that may be close contact that they are being tested frequently.”

In terms of a future vaccine, “We are also hopeful too and have begun preliminary conversations with both the state and the county about where SHC would fit into the state’s vaccination plans. We are hopeful that at some point during the Spring semester we will have a vaccine available to us. That we will be able to distribute, but so much of that is reliant on the trials and the approvals.”

When speaking of the concern students had regarding the Spring calendar and the lack of a Mardi Gras break and a Spring break, Abel said, “It was primarily looking at the Spring calendar and trying to find ways to reduce student travel. I think it has

become a consensus with colleges and universities that the best way to reduce travel is to eliminate some of those breaks.”

“Now, I will say it is a cause of great concern for me in terms of the emotional health of our campus. That is something that is not lost on me.” He added that this was a topic of discussion between Abel and the student advisor group. “We are going to be actively finding ways to do anything we can to help students maintain positive emotional health.”

Abel added that he has concerns for students and their mental health during this time. “We have seen a slight uptick in our [counseling] numbers but it has not been significant. I think we are probably hearing more anecdotes from students in terms of how they are feeling. It’s a whole variety of factors. It’s not having the same social scene, not being able to have the same social outlets to be able to connect with others and be in community. We are used to being in community. It’s also too when you have more courses online, sometimes that takes more work than you are used to and it gets confusing.”

According to an article by NBCNews, college students in particular during COVID times are experiencing increasingly negative strain on their mental health.

When speaking of the stress of not only students but also faculty/staff, Abel said, “None of us work on a college campus or attend college to be away from peo-

ple. We love the college environment, we love working with students. It is incredibly hard on faculty, staff and students alike, not to have the Spring Hill experience.”

Abel has stated that he is always willing to meet with students that might have questions concerns, or ideas to improve our campus.

Special Software Required for Exams

online, students can search up answers for test or look through notes.

College course that requires it for the duration of those 12 months.”

With fall exams around the corner, many professors are requiring students to use lockdown browsers.

As part of Spring Hill College’s plan to combat large numbers of COVID-19 cases, they are asking students to stay at home after Thanksgiving break. This plan would reduce any chance of students contracting the virus while traveling back and forth for the holidays.

For students, this means having to take final exams online like last semester. In order to make sure that students are following testing guidelines, professors have figured out ways to reduce the chances of cheating.

In the past there have been variations of exams handed out when testing took place in-person. With testing being

Many professors are having students purchase and download LockDown Browsers in order to ensure no student is cheating.

The browser locks down Schoology so that the student can not access other websites while testing.

Dwight Spivey also mentions that the companion for the browser is Monitor, which uses video recording.

This is the program that costs $15 every 12 months to use. As far as whether the student will have to purchase it for each class, Spivey says, that the program “includes unlimited access to all Monitor-proctored exams in every Spring Hill

Spivey also says that the most common issue with the browser is the “No Server Found” error. Which according to Spivey is more of a user error rather than a browser error. The best way to resolve the issue he says is to try and uses a different browser.

Most professors have added this requirement to their syllabus at the beginning of the semester to prepare the student to purchase it.

For more questions about LockDown Browder, contact Dwight Spivey at dspivey@ shc.com or review class syllabi.

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam

Genesis Gonzalez Reporter

Student accessing LockDown browser for a test.

Photo By: Genesis Gonzalez

Alabama State Grant Funding Changes

Genesis Gonzalez

Reporter

The Alabama Commission on Higher Education announced an Alabama Student Grant Program funding to change for the 2020-2021 academic year.

According to an email sent from the Office of Financial Aid, “…the Alabama Commission on higher Education has declared the yearly

maximum award payment for 2020-2021 to be $1,200 for full-time students and $600 for half-time students”. The grant will be for students who are residents of Alabama and are working on their undergrad.

Rebecca Robinson who works directly with the grant says, “This is not a need based program.” This means that anyone who is a resident of Alabama is eligible.

The previous amount

awarded to students was $500 for those who are fulltime students and $250 for those who were part-time students. According to the email, this may also have an effect on a student’s loan eligibility.

Funds will be available in student’s accounts until late December that will come from the ACHE. Students will be able to see how this will affect their eligibility by login into their Badgerweb. The

information will be under their 2020-2021 Financial Aid Award.

Robinson says that applications are available for the grants at the financial aid office. All deadlines are on the application.

Every year the award is funded based on how much the school receives from the ACHE. With the ACHE approving $1,200 for full time students and $600 for parttime students, the school can

now award the grant.

Robinson explains the comparison from previous years. She states “just to give you a comparison, in the 2014-2015 year the ASGP award was only $450 for the year for full-time students.”

If students have any questions, they may contact the Office of Financial aid at (251) 380-3460.

SHC Plans With Interim Co-Provosts

Grace Thelen Reporter

President Joseph Lee announced that Steven Almquist, PhD and Lisa Hagar, PhD have been appointed as the interim co-Provosts for the 2020-2021 academic year. Following Marc Manganaro, PhD, who served as the schools interim provost last year.

“Drs. Almquist and Hager have over 30 years combined experience here at Spring Hill, merging their strengths and their vast knowledge of our Jesuit, Catholic tradition of instruction,” said Lee. “Together, I know they will lead us into a successful academic year for our students and their instructors.”

Almquist serves as a professor of English, the Chair of the Division of Languages

and Literatures and the faculty Athletics representative. He came to Spring Hill in 2008, directly out of his PhD program at the University of Iowa. Hager is a professor of Psychology and the Chair of the Social Sciences Division. She has been at Spring Hill College since 2001 and has served as the division chair for 12 years.

“I am particularly excited to work with our dedicated

and resilient faculty, as they continue to serve our students and embody the Jesuit ideals that are at the core of SHC,” said Almquist of the new appointment. Hager also noted, “I hope that I can make an important contribution to the institution that has been my home away from home for the last 20 years.”

As the first semester of 2020 is coming to an end, Dr.

Hagar stated a few initiatives that she would want to change in the Spring 2021 semester; “a few that I want to focus on includes: the development of new programs (this is a focus for both of us), initiatives to increase retention such as expanding career planning and internship opportunities, and supporting the development of a diversity and inclusion office.”

SHC Implements $1.3 Million SSS Grant

Jared Jacoby

Reporter

On Aug. 28, Spring Hill College announced that the school received a Student Support Service (SSS) Trio grant worth $1.3 million which will go towards helping more students in their academic career and road to graduation.

This is the first year for SHC to receive a grant from SSS and it can be renewed for up to five years.

SSS helps college students who are low income, first-generation (those

whose parents do not have a four-year college degree) or students with disabilities. This grant will allow Spring Hill to provide tutoring, mentoring, workshops, financial planning and other support services for up to 140 students annually.

“With all of them, you get extra support,” said Ashley Dunklin regarding students with low income, disabilities and first-generation.

Dunklin is a Student Success Coach at SHC. “You have that go-to person when you don’t understand something; similar to success

coaches on campus but these will be their success coaches to help them with their specific issues. You can get tutoring even beyond what is already on campus or guidance or counseling.”

“Accessibility to Spring Hill College’s Jesuit, Catholic education is one of our administration’s number one priorities,” said President E. Joseph Lee II, PhD. “A student who has potential to change our world for the better should not miss that opportunity and this grant will ensure we can provide the best education possible.”

Lee added that having the grant funded on the first attempt at the application was a particularly successful factor. “I continue to be so proud of our staff and faculty who seek out and do the research so that the College can offer these incredible opportunities.

SSS recognizes that students whose parents do not have a college degree have more difficulties navigating the complexity of decisions that college requires for success; it bolsters students from low income families who have not had the ac-

ademic opportunities that their college peers have had and helps students with disabilities remove obstacles preventing them from thriving academically.

“We hired a director. Her name is Dr. Chrishan Watson,” Dunklin said. “She is going to be the new director for the program and we will be hiring a coordinator to go with it along with some professional tutors in other part-time positions that for right now, the office will probably go to the library where the CAE used to be.”

Reporters: Grace Crapps, Tara Summers, Olivia McNorton, Grace Thelen, Jared Jacoby, Andrew Spinks, Bessmorgan Baluyut, Conner Moore, and Genesis Gonzalez

Advisors: Stuart Babington, Gary Wolverton and Bill Rowan

No Projects Due Right After a Break!

Jared Jacoby Reporter

I believe that students in college should not have big assignments due right after breaks. Being a college student myself, whenever I am on a week-long break, my mind is not on school. Instead, it is on my family and resting. Whenever there is a paper or exam that needs to be done the day after the break, it creates two problems.

For one thing, it takes a while for me to get into the mood to do homework during a break. Secondly, it makes what should be one of the most relaxing times of the year an overly stressful week. When I am hit with these deadlines right after breaks, I am stuck between my lack of motivation for work and my stress levels increasing during breaks According to Healthline.

com, research shows that 70 percent of students their Fall break or Thanksgiving break could be the perfect time to relax, but many students may have a big project due when they get back. These assignments make the break barely feel like a break.

I understand why professors put these deadlines after a break. I understand that they just want us to stay focused on our material. Too much time off could make us forget a few things we

learned in school. However, when students have to complete an eight-page essay, they will feel pressure during a time that they should instead be able to relax.

According to Julia Angley of the John Hopkins Newsletter, there were no administrative restrictions with assignments over breaks at Hopkins University. Angley found that many students at Hopkins said that their breaks did not feel restful. As a senior at Spring Hill Col-

lege with big assignments due after this Thanksgiving break, I share their sentiments as there is no ban on assignments over breaks here at SHC.

In Spring of 2021, SHC students will have “rest days” instead of long breaks. There is one rest day per month where there are no classes on a weekday. The problem is that students still have homework to do or tests to study for and these rest days will only feel more like catch-up days, not breaks.

College students need proper breaks so they can relax instead of stressing about a test or paper. They need more than a single day of no classes. Every student should have a solid vacation from their classes that will allow them to enjoy themselves instead of feeling overwhelmed.

Early Christmas Spirit is Justified in 2020

Carlie Jamison Web Editor Guest Columnist

Is it ever too early to start celebrating Christmas?

Christmas means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. The holiday can be a time to remember and celebrate the birth of Christ, a time to be with family, a time to open presents, a time to show gratitude and thankfulness, or even a time to help others.

According to Forbes Magazine, Americans spend more than $1 trillion on Christmas each year. The National Retail Federation estimated that the average American spent nearly $1,050 on Christmas gifts last year. For many small businesses, the fourth quarter can double or

triple the yearly sales number.

From buying presents, to buying decorations, or even giving money to churches and charities, there is no arguing that Christmas is a time of spending money. However, the debate of when to start celebrating Christ-

mas happens every year.

There is nothing more aggravating than seeing Christmas decorations prominently displayed before Halloween is even over. I have had a job in retail for many years now, so I am accustomed to Christmas starting early every year. After hearing non-

EDITORIAL POLICY: SUBMISSIONS:

The SpringHillian is published five times each semester from August to December. The views expressed herein do not represent the views of Spring Hill College and are not the views of the faculty, administration, staff or students. They are the views of the individual columnists.

stop Christmas music all day and coming home covered in glitter from decorations for two months straight, I am usually burnt out on Christmas by the time it rolls around.

Normally, I prefer that Christmas wait until after Thanksgiving. However, this year I am changing my stance.

This year has been very tough for so many people. It seems that almost everybody lost something. Many lost jobs, some lost family members, others lost seeing the joy in everyday life. Dealing with this pandemic has not been easy for most people. This year, it seems that Christmas has become a way to cope with the stress of the pandemic.

Recently, I have seen an unusually high number of

people begin to decorate their houses for Christmas. Honestly, I have no problem with it.

This year has been challenging enough. People should be free to decorate their houses if they want to. Blast your favorite Christmas tunes whenever you want. Go ahead and wrap those presents, watch your favorite Christmas movies, and proudly wear your favorite Christmas socks. Do what makes you happy. We could all use some extra Christmas spirit right about now.

The SpringHillian publishes guest submissions at the discretion of the student-editor and section editors. Submissions should be less than 300 words, and editors reserve the right to edit the submissions for length and content. Original writings should be mailed or delivered to: Student-editor, The SpringHillian, Communication Arts, Spring Hill College, 4000 Dauphin Street, Mobile, AL 36608. Submissions may also be sent as emailed attachments to: shcmedia@email.shc.edu.

Above:

Right:

Bottom

Bottom Left: Students wait in anticipation for ‘Stomp the Hill’ to start.

AROUND THE HILL

Seniors Abby Lollar and Jessica Gagliano pose together at ‘Stomp the Hill’.

Photo by: Gabriella Tucker

Right: Delta Gamma performs for the audience before the competition starts.

Photo by: Gabriella Tucker

Photo by: Gabriella Tuker

Members of TKE fraterntiy perform their routine in front of the judges and fellow students.

Photo by: Gabriella Tucker

THE HILL

Top of Page: Lambda Chi Alpha at Phi Mu’s Mangeant.

Top Left: Action Shot at Delta Chi’s Earth Ball Event

Top Right: Mangeant winner RJ Del Rio.

Photos by: Grace Crapps

Bottom left: Black Flood being showcased as one of Mangeant’s contestants.

Bottom right: Collete Conners helping Ellen Moonan clean up after taking a pie to the face!

Photos by: Grace Thelen

begin, 8:00 a.m. 20 Th Add/drop begins – See Advisor. 26

Grant helps finish Africatown Film

Conner Moore Reporter

Spring Hill College was awarded more than $185,000, as part of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) $30 million in grants for projects

SEP 3 Th Last day to remove “I” grades for sp/su2020 undergraduate students.

7 M Labor Day, no classes.

across the country.

8 T Classes resume, 8:00 a.m.

Conner Moore Reporter

As the fall semester is approaching its end, students now have their eyes set on the new spring semester calendar and what it entails.

On Oct. 21, the spring semester calendar was updated and sent out to students and faculty so that they can view what will be going on next semester. The calendar is very similar to the fall semester and doesn’t hold many changes in regards to breaks given. On the other hand many students raised concern about the spring semester calendar in regards to decisions made.

Provosts, Dr. Hager and Dr. Almquist sent out the calendar and explained that, “we have postponed the start of the semester till Jan. 19, and have eliminated breaks just like the fall semester, on the other hand there are rest days scattered throughout the semester for students and faculty.”

OCT 20 T Midterm grades due to Registrar’s Office, 2:00 p.m.

22-30 Th-F Course Advisement period.

Andrew Spinks Reporter

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way a lot of students go about their dayto-day lives. But what about the RAs? Carley Jenkins, an RA in Mobile Hall has worked as a resident assistant for three years and this year is certainly a different one.

Jenkins began by describing how the allocation of jobs and the shortage of

This allows for the work of professors to explore the opportunities of historical backgrounds and documentaries. With this work being produced, Spring Hill College was given the honor to display the landmarks of Africatown, and the history

26 M Last day to withdraw with non-penalty W grade. 60% point of the term; see Refund Policy in the Bulletin for details.

3 T Last day to request pass/fail option.

for quite some time and with this grant it allows us to showcase the rich history of Africatown and everything behind it.”

NOV 2 M Last date for degree application for May 2021 graduation.

25-27 W-F Thanksgiving holiday, on-campus instruction ends.

NOV/DEC 30-11 M Final week of class online/Final exams online.

DEC 11 F Last day for removing “I” grades for sp/su2020 graduate students.

behind the slave ship Clotilda. One professor, Dr. Ryan Noble, is one of the people working on this project. He expressed how the work and the process it was going through by saying, “The project is going very well and will be done real soon. We have been working on it

In just a couple of weeks the project will be showcased all around, and it is exciting to see what is in store for this project. At the

15 T Final grades due to Registrar’s Office by 12:00, Noon.

conclusion of the workshop many of these people, including Noble, will have a chance to sit back and reflect on the time spent working on this project and see that having the chance to make something come to life is worth so much in the end.

20 Sun All degree requirements must be completed for December conferral of degrees.

20 Sun Conferral of December degrees, no Commencement.

Spring Calendar Looks Very Different

SPRING SEMESTER 2021

JAN 19 T Classes begin, 8:00 a.m.

19 T Add/drop begins – See Advisor.

25 M Add/drop ends Last Day to Drop with No Financial Penalty.

FEB 3 W Last day for removing “I” grades for fa2020 undergraduate students

23 T Rest Day, no classes

24 W Classes resume, 8:15 am

MAR 16 T Midterm grades due to the Registrar’s Office, 2:00 p.m.

18-26 Th-F Course Advisement period.

23 T Rest Day, no classes

24 W Classes resume, 8:15 am

24 W Last day to withdraw with non-penalty W grade. 60% point of the term; see Refund Policy in the Bulletin for details.

APR 2 F Good Friday, no classes

5 M Classes resume, 8:15 am

6 T Last day to request pass/fail option 14 W Rest Day, no classes 15 Th Classes resume, 8:00 am 23 F Honors Convocation (no afternoon classes or evening classes - 1:00 p.m. on).

28 W Last day of classes.

29 Th Academic Preparation day.

APR/MAY 30-1 F-Sat Final Exams.

MAY 3-5 M-W Final Exams continue.

5 W Last day for removing “I” grades for fa2020 graduate students.

6 Th Grades for degree candidates due to Registrar’s Office by 2 :00 p.m.

7 F Baccalaureate Mass.

8 Sat Commencement.

11 T Final grades due in Registrar's Office by 12:00, Noon.

might be tough especially since we were supposed to have two major breaks.” He mentions the rest days by saying, “I don’t really like the idea of the rest days mainly because we are probably going to have work still due so it really didn’t make sense to me, but i will just go with the flow.” He ended things by saying he is excited about what the new semester will bring and hopes everything goes smooth.

Freshman, Myles Cooks, expressed his ideas and thoughts as well on the new calendar by saying, “Overall I like the new calendar, I think that we could have at least had some sort of break in there instead of rest days because I feel the rest days are sort of pointless.

Spring Hill College is among many Jesuit institutions and they followed up their statement by saying, “This adjustment is similar to the changes made by many of our Jesuit higher

education counterparts for next year.” Students weighed in their thoughts on the Spring calendar.

NOTE: Some graduate classes begin in the spring semester earlier than the dates given above. Check with the Teacher Education Division, Theology Division and/or the Graduate Studies Office for exact dates. Updated 10/20/2020

Junior, Zach Stewart, explained his ideas and thoughts on the Spring

Calendar saying, “The new calendar doesn’t really affect me personally, I have gotten used to fall semester with no breaks, but a lot of students like having those longer breaks to see family and that

I think we could have done increased testing after the breaks to insure safety.” He also mentioned that he looks forward to getting out of the fall semester and starting up his last semester as a freshman in hopes the spread dies down a little.

Being An RA During A Pandemic

professional staff has affected everyday RAs. “This isn’t COVID’s fault but originally there’s eleven positions for being an RA in our professional staff. My sophomore year four people held those eleven positions and my junior three people held those eleven positions, and then we’ve had two people quit in the middle of this COVID pandemic so now we have one person holding eleven positions.” This has shifted the professional work onto the regular RAs, and they

have to go on duty much more frequently.

There is a certain degree of caution resident assistants need to exercise to make sure they don’t contract COVID while performing their RA duties. “I didn’t really feel comfortable doing room checks since so many people our age are asymptomatic.” Jenkins said “It’s kind of a scary thing since no people either get tested because they don’t sign up for the GuideSafe app so they don’t get randomly

selected or they’re asymptomatic.”

Resident Assistants have also had to significantly alter the ways they interact with students. “Normally we can hold in person events but we can’t this semester because we can’t have large gatherings of people” Jenkins went on to elaborate that “it’s been more us checking up on [people] through the phone.”

Jenkins also shed some light on an issue affecting some students this semes-

ter. “There’s definitely more scary situations happening with people’s mental health. There’s been a lot more mental health calls this semester than I’ve ever dealt with.” Jenkins expresses her concerns about this stating that “there needs to be more mental health awareness on campus”. Jenkins then states that resident assistants are here for us during this rough and to “feel free to reach out”.

Hurricane Zeta Destroys Softball Dugout

Grace Thelen Reporter

In late October, Hurricane Zeta tore through Mobile and destroyed the Spring Hill College women’s softball dugout.

On October 28, Hurricane Zeta made landfall- hitting the Mobile area overnight worse than anyone expected. This hurricane left thousands of people without power including the Spring Hill College students.

The SHC women’s softball team’s suffered many damages and their dugout was completely destroyed by this hurricane.

Head coach Steve Kittrell said that, “I had a meeting with the school construction and the athletic director Joe Niland to rebuild the dugout, and met to talk about possibilities and get estimates to see if insurance will cover it and hopefully build it better than what it was before.”

The softball team is currently wrapping up fall practice and are practicing less than they were before the hurricane. They are learning how to adjust to practices without a dugout- at least until it gets rebuilt. “The girls have really adjusted to this,” Kittrell says, “The hardest part with this whole process is not being able to practice

for a few days, but the school was great in getting someone out here to clean it up.”

The athletic department is running their annual “Back the Badgers” fundraising

campaign, where you can donate directly to a sports team to help support them.

Donations directed toward the softball team can officially help them be up and running again. So far, women’s softball has raised $1,760 for their program and are hoping to raise more money.

When donating, make sure to designate the women’s softball team and the money will go straight to them.

Support the badgers by donating to the “Back the Badgers” campaign at https://www.givecampus. com/schools/SpringHillCollege/back-the-badgers-2020.

Delta Chi’s Earth Ball Event Raises Spirits

Olivia McNorton

Reporter

Members of Greek Life on the Hill recently competed in Delta Chi’s Earth Ball event on Nov. 7.

The philanthropic fundraiser, a tradition that Spring Hill’s Delta Chi held on campus for over 10 years, was resurrected from its last occurrence in the fall of 2017.

The event attracted a crowd of sorority and fraternity members awaiting the chance to chase after a ginormous ball on Dorn Field.

According to Delta Chi’s President Robert Vought, “The big emphasis for this organization and this event is Greek unity as opposed to competition.”

The teams competing in the event were all the fraternity and sorority chapters at the Hill: Phi Mu, Tri Delta, Lambda Chi Alpha, Sigma Kappa, Delta Gamma, Sigma Chi, and Tau Kappa Epsilon.

The game featured two Greek Life organizations pushing and lifting a huge ball into the air and trying to push the ball across the other team’s end zone.

The winners received plaques made by the members of Delta Chi. When asked about the planning process of the event relating to maintaining COVID-19

guidelines, Vought said, “It was definitely a struggle as far as getting it set up. We’re very lucky to have a really good executive board who was able to pick up the slack after our philanthropy chair tested positive a week and a half ago.”

According to Phi Mu member Layne Carlson, everyone attending received the satisfaction of getting outside and having fun with fellow Greek Life members. “You get to hang out with your friends. You get to hang out with people you wouldn’t normally,” Carlson said, “Your endorphins are rushing. You’re outside-it’s just really good vibes.”

Delta Chi supports and raises money for The V Foundation for Cancer Research. The foundation was started by ESPN’s Jim Valvano. The fraternity raised nearly $1,000 in donations raised from the Earth Ball competition.

The first place winners of Earth Ball were Phi Mu, with second place going to Lambda Chi Alpha. Third place was earned by the Earth Ballers, a collection of non-Greek-Life affiliated players.

Lambda Chi Alpha also won an award for the most spirited team, and the Earth Ballers won an award for the best freshman team.

The remnants of the softball dugout after Hurricane Zeta tore thorugh Mobile in late October.

Photo By: Paityn Desormeaux

The coveted plaques from the Delta Chi’s Earth Ball fundraiser.

Photo By: Olivia McNorton

Fraternity and sorority members warming up for the Earth Ball event.

Photo By: Olivia McNorton

Ben Cazayoux in action.

Photo By: Olivia McNorton

HILL YEAH!

ON THE SPOT

What are you looking forward to over the 2-month break?

Studt

CPB Bringing Back Badger Fest

Stuart Babington Reporter Advisor

The Campus Programming Board and the Office of Student Affairs are bringing a live music and food festival to the Spring Hill campus on Friday, Nov. 20.

Badger Fest was held annually on the campus until it faded from the landscape in 2016. This year, it will feature at least two live bands, food trucks, a patio party by Aramark, and various activities sponsored by different clubs and organizations, said Kristyn Russell, director of the Center for Student Involvement at SHC.

“Our hope is to bring back the traditional festival style event to campus which we have not had in quite a while,”

she said, comparing it to a miniature version of the iconic New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

The outdoor festival has been traditionally held on Rydex Commons, but it will be held over several locations this year, with the Avenue of the Oaks being the main hub, said Alexis Williams, vice president of CPB. The event is expected to start at 3 with

live music from 3 to 7 p.m., she added.

“I believe the main reason we brought this back was tradition,” Williams said. “Sometimes at SHC you go into the archive and find these amazing things that they used to do at SHC. Badger Fest is a way for students to connect and enjoy outside.”

This event comes at a time when many of the students have experienced nearly a full semester of social distancing.

“The freshmen haven't been able to connect with upperclassmen as much,” Williams said. “So let's have this event that is safe and outside. As we know COVID-19 violations are still prevalent, we have many regulations about this event. It is outside, as I mentioned, masks are required, 6 feet at eating tables, etc. We are sticking with Spring Hill’s COVID-19 regulations. Also, our numbers have been low on campus, so I trust our community to follow the rules.”

Joe

Freshman

“Getting a good cup of coffee in St. Louis”

Emily Vick Senior

“Hanging out with my family!”

Olivia Morrison

Sophomore

“Going home to see my family and reading through a book with someone spe- cial.”

Alexis Williams Senior

“Catching up on Pose and hang out with family and friends.”

Sarah Buhmann

Sophomore

“Eating at restaurantsthe in Dallas”