Submitted by James Meyer
During a normal school year, 7220 Entertainment hosts events to bring fun and leisure to students at University of Wyoming. Following the COVID-19 outbreak back in December 2019, 7220 Entertainment has adapted their events to better function during the pandemic and provide the UW student population with fun events.
Before COVID-19
Prior to the outbreak, 7220 Entertainment hosted a variety of events during each school year. These events ranged from large capacity events like trivia and bingo nights with hundreds of students participating, to hosting smaller events in the Union Gardens.
“We did over 70 plus events during a typical year,” said Amanda Kuster, Student Activities Coordinator for 7220 Entertainment. “We’d have lectures and art shows with different students and film festivals. There’s just so many.”
Effects of COVID-19
Due to the pandemic, 7220 Entertainment has adjusted its lineup of events to conform to the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus. These restrictions include social distancing, capacity limitations and the need for greater sanitation, causing many events to be moved online.
“Since the pandemic happened, we had to alter the format and adjust a lot of the events to be virtual.” said Aliea Ednie, Club Events Coordinator, 7220 Entertainment. “We are still trying to provide similar events that are online in addition to completely creating new events.”
Besides health and safety related difficulties, the COVID-19 situation has also hindered the ability of 7220 Entertainment to recruit new members. Recruitment is important to 7220 Entertainment because student volunteers help in many different capacities.
“Volunteers are essential for creating and executing events,” Ednie said. “Without their help, 7220 Entertainment could not produce a number of large or high-quality events.”
Digital Designers
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, some characteristics of how 7220 Entertainment produces events have not changed. One of these aspects is the student volunteers who create them.
“I think one really similar thing that all of them have in common is the leadership that is behind each of them is run by students,” Kuster said. “It’s still facilitated and coordinated and made logistically sound by University of Wyoming students.”
In addition to the volunteer students, the coordinators of each of the branches of 7220 Entertainment help guide the formation of events. These branches are Club Events, Films, and Late-Night Events. The coordinators are UW employees and have a variety of duties that help lay the groundwork for safe and comfortable events.
According to Ednie, the job duties of being the Club Events Coordinator include planning events within the Wyoming Union and other venues for the UW students, faculty/staff and the Laramie community, seeking out collaboration opportunities, and recruiting new members to 7220 Entertainment.
Why Events Matter
The events that 7220 Entertainment hosts provide UW students with the opportunity to participate in camaraderie with each other as best as possible. COVID-19 has limited the number of opportunities to gather in-person, so while these digital events might not be perfect, they are still important. According to Kuster, the goal of these events is to involve students.
“It’s really to take them away from the day-to-day hardship and just have fun,” Kuster said.
The events are not just for the sake of pure fun. There are also mental health benefits students can gain from participating in the 7220 Entertainment’s events.
“Some people just think, ‘Oh fun, that’s not necessary. You don’t need that in your life.’ But that’s a really big mental health concern.” Kuster said. “And from listening to the students and committee meetings, it feels like a lot of students are stressed out with classes being online.”
Into the future
Not all pandemics last forever, and it is doubtful that COVID-19 will be the exception. Once things begin returning to normal, 7220 Entertainment will be there to provide enjoyable events.
“I think once restrictions have been lifted, then there will be a lot more in-person events,” Ednie said. “We may have to limit the capacity at each event but overall it would be a more positive impact on the student population.”
Although the in-person types of events that are favored by some students will return, they will not be exclusive. The COVID-19 experience has changed the methodology of 7220 Entertainment and how they offer events.
According to Kuster, in addition to physical events, there will be more virtual and hybrid events to accommodate all types of students.
“I think we’ll return to the events, but we’ll have a different mindset,” Kuster said. “I think you’ll see a lot of innovation come from COVID-19 times.”
