With campuses closed, students are left to connect virtually, affecting the ability for clubs and student organizations to put on activities and host events. 

But One Thread, a club that looks to repurpose textile waste, has been putting to use materials to help healthcare facilities and workers amidst the COVID-19 outbreak.   

“The One Thread Nonprofit Organization recently started the Mask Making Campaign, initiated by Seoyeon Stephanie Chung, and allows for students that do know how to sew to assist us in making masks to donate to local hospitals and retirement centers,” One Thread president Ayda Sow said. “Because the mask making is done individually without the supervision of the creation process, the most important factor for the success of the Mask Making Campaign is maintaining the quality of all the masks made. Thus, Stephanie simplified the mask making process, as well as made many tutorial videos to explain how to create the masks, in order to make the process easier on the volunteers. In addition, we are always messaging the volunteers, replying to their questions, and staying organized with the resources and volunteers we have.” 

Sow also leads the National Honors Society, and many of the organization’s events and programs scheduled for the rest of the school year were affected because of social distancing restrictions. 

“The NHS Officer team and I are still sending messages through Remind101 about certain deadlines and changes. However, because the Liberty NHS involves hundreds of people and we normally do not send too many emails or messages unless required, the interactions made between the NHS Officer team with the members has been pretty similar to the normal,” she said. “As other club and organization leaders may know, in the Presidents Together meetings, we have been planning our Clothing Drive where we would collect clothing donations in the rotunda and donate the collected clothing to various shelters in Dallas. Of course, again, due to social distancing, we had to cancel the event, and the same applies to the Custodian Helpers, Teacher’s Helpers Program, and Bulletin Board Decorating. Currently, the NHS officers and I don’t have anything else planned for the rest of the year since our service hour deadline extended. Moreover, even without the social distancing issue, the consistent problem with the vast number of our NHS members hinders a lot of event ideas that we wanted to plan.”

Writers Guild president Chloe Zonis has kept in touch with her club members to make sure they continue to write. 

“I just wanted to ensure they were still growing as writers and especially during this time when it is so crucial to stay busy and use any anxious energy into writing,” Zonis said. “I think clubs are a great way to keep students’ minds off of news right now and keep them involved in school as much as possible. There’s a challenge trying to lead a club that’s more introverted and whether or not to do Zoom meetings. It is just redundant when the premise of the club is to share writing and they might feel uncomfortable in the different setting.” 

Communication between officers has been a challenge for clubs like National Art Honors Society, but its mission remains the same. 

“The officers communicate through GroupMe and keep in touch with Stuco and the NHS,” officer Catherine Tong said. “It is more difficult to communicate clearly when we do not see each other as often. In NAHS, I strived to promote an environment where all members can freely express art no matter what art level they are in. This club is where all students can join and connect with art in their own way, and the different opportunities NAHS provides allows students to do so.”