by Brittney Lee, Contributing Writer
The Landing has been a staple venue for student-lead events on campus.
Photo courtesy of Sam Shirley.
The Landing has been the small event venue at UMF for years, but COVID-19 has had a significant effect on the traditional weekly happenings this semester.
Throughout the years, The Landing has been a staple venue for student-lead events on campus. Events such as mug painting, tye-dying, and many others have been held in The Landing as a way for students to participate on campus when classes aren’t in session.
Before the pandemic hit, students were able to freely go to these events without worrying about social distancing guidelines or wearing a face covering. In previous years, The Landing also had couches and chairs throughout the entire room. However, that’s not the case this year because the entire layout of the room has gotten a makeover in order to abide by the schools social distancing guidelines.
Going forward, the events and their safety precautions are set to stay consistent. The events have been reported to be going very well. “When I attended an event [at The Landing] students seemed to have easily followed the social distancing requirements and everyone was cooperative for the most part,” said Harley Carter, a second-year student.
This year the student-lead events have been occurring rather regularly and have had great student attendance. These happenings have been held on some weekends and most weeknights as a way for students to take a step back from their coursework and enjoy a stress-free evening. However, it’s hard to ignore the impacts the new changes to The Landing have made on how events are led.
Students are enjoying the events and have thought of them to be a “great way to deal with the new world we live in today,” says Carter. Some students mentioned that with the stress of the new school year, these events have been a positive distraction.