Kamryn Schnieder ~ Copy Editor
On Oct. 23, the University of Lynchburg held a Fall Festival, which has been just one of the many events being held around campus to celebrate the season.
With the Senior Exclusive Oktoberfest, the Fall Festival, a scary car competition, and even a trivia night, the school is still making efforts despite COVID to keep students engaged and interactive. For some students, this is a needed and wanted break and distraction from the workload and pressure of this compressed, strange semester. For others, these events pose a health risk or often don’t fit into their schedules, so they are making their own Halloween plans instead.
Kayla Zinski, a junior English and studio art double major, said that she has not “been involved much this semester. [I have] been mainly swamped with school and work.” Zinski said she is burnt out from working two jobs and homework. She also explained, “having festive activities on campus might help, but I think a true break from school would help the most.”
If she were able to go to an event held by the school, something Zinski would like to see is “an unofficial costume day, perhaps the [F]riday before Halloween.” Additionally, Zinski has already made plans to have “a small Among Us party” on Halloween. She explained, “We are all wearing different colors, with masks of course. We are planning on playing the game together as well as just catching up.”
Larry Hamlett, a senior graphic design major, stated that the Senior Exclusive Oktoberfest “sounded fun but [I] was busy at the time. There have been events mentioned recently that sound like fun but [I am] usually too busy to go to any of them.” He also proposed the idea of a costume party. He mentioned that “costume parties are usually pretty fun [H]alloween events. I would like to see a costume contest with nice prizes for the best costumes.” His plans for Halloween itself are “spending time with friends and just hanging out on [H]alloween, nothing really special. We have been watching horror movies every weekend though for the spooky season occasions.”
Hamlett also asserted that these events do not make up for the lack of a fall break. He stated, “While I love fall themed events, I do not think they help alleviate any stress for me personally. As I said, I am very busy and [cannot] make it to many events … The lack of fall break has severely hurt the end of the semester for me and a lot of my friends. I have felt burnt out for [a while] now and [have] no time to give my mind a break and relax.”
He attributed much of this semester’s stress to COVID. Hamlett explained, “[I feel] like the semester has been fine in regards of following COVID restrictions and regulations while remaining on campus, but I do feel that the workload has only gotten heavier and with a lack of break, the expectations of students from instructors are a bit much for me to keep up with and still be able to enjoy the semester.” The compressed schedule and lack of break as a result of COVID is equally as problematic as the risk of the virus itself, and this is being shown in students’ attitudes and grades.
The Student Activities Board (SAB) released an email on Monday, Oct. 26, with a list of upcoming events hosted by SAB. They are listed as “Halloween Events” and are as follows: Chris Fleming, Halloween Trivia, Halloween Grab & Go, and Peter Bole. The full dates, times, and locations can be found in the email sent out by SAB, on the attached flier. Each of these events will be held to the ongoing COVID-19 safety standards.
