The Student Events Team (SET) held their annual Fall Fest on Oct. 9 from 4-8 p.m., and Oct. 10 from 12-4 p.m. However, the event was slightly different this year due to COVID-19.
Fall Fest is a time for students to gather and participate in fall activities, and there are also giveaways and free food. This year, Fall Fest provided a way for students to experience on-campus activities during the pandemic.
“It was nice to still have Fall Fest despite everything going on with COVID. It was nice to still be able to have the event and participate in activities safely with masks on,” said senior Victoria Jordan.
Jordan and her roommates attended Fall Fest on Oct. 9, and they said, “We were allotted an hour, but we were able to hit all the food trucks and ride the mechanical pumpkin within 20 minutes, which was great. They had a great grilled cheese truck, caramel apples, and churros, and all the food was free.”
Jordan explained that there were not many decorations, but the fest really brought a fall feel to the campus.
“My favorite part was the mechanical pumpkin, hands down,” said Jordan.
There were some differences this year due to the extra precautions put into place because of COVID-19.
“Only 80 students can be signed up for an hour time slot at a time. The bracelets are color coordinated by day and hour, so that it can be monitored when students are there,” said SET President Courtney Cardona. “Student Events Team members working the event will be maintaining social distancing and enforcing bracelet times.”
In previous years, there was more flexibility in what could be done during Fall Fest. Some of the noticeable differences are that the event would be one Saturday in October for four hours instead of separated into two different days. More students were also allowed to come and go as they please.
The advertising team for SET has also had to adapt to the new times.
“My co-chair Anna Morrel and I have been creating both Instagram ads and poster ads for the hallways in the main academic building,” said SET Advertising Chair Sophia Velasco. “It has been pretty successful with still catching the attention of students, even though there has been a decrease of students on campus.”
Fall Fest is not the only event SET has planned for this semester.
“Coming up this month we have ‘Halloweek’ which features many events and DIY activities that are Halloween themed. Included in this we will be having a Halloween Bingo and Stuff-A-Bear. SET has been loving all of the support during this time and we hope to be seeing everyone at all of our upcoming events,” said Velasco.
SET is working on making it possible to still hold events in a COVID-friendly manner.
“It has been hard for us to not have as many people as we are used to at our events. Bingo, for example, we can only have a certain number of people, but we offer it at two times now to adapt and allow as many students as possible to attend each month,” said Cardona. “I am super proud of my board and all of the work they do to plan and work events for SET. I think I am most proud of the turnout of the General Member Meetings via Zoom. We are receiving amazing attendance at our bi-weekly meetings at 10:10pm on Mondays, we love to see all of the freshmen and other students get involved.”
If you are a student at the university, you can follow SET’s Instagram (@shu_set) or look out to join the next SET event.
