Coronavirus – Page 2 – TrevEchoes Online

Freshmen face unique challenges during pandemic

16Feb

By trevechoesonlineNo Comments

Coronavirus, Features

Freshmen face unique challenges during pandemic

By Isabel Landers Gathered around tables in the cafeteria and sand volleyball courts, jumping in the car with nowhere to go: This is how Trevecca freshmen have found community amidst a global pandemic. Freshmen students have learned to make traditions of their own. Ending their high school career with canceled proms and high school graduations prepared them for the things they would miss out on coming into college. “It's not really difficult to adapt to the situation we are in because it's not like we have known anything different,” said Adam Newman, a freshman. Trevveca’s 336 freshmen are among the 3.2 million high school graduates to start college during a global pandemic, according to educationdata.org. College administrators nationwide have struggled...

Counseling Center still operating virtually

9Feb

By trevechoesonlineNo Comments

Coronavirus, Mental Health

Counseling Center still operating virtually

By Diana Leyva Jacob Caitlin Lassiter, a Trevecca senior, sits in her bedroom, careful not to disrupt her roommates, and prepares for her online counseling session. Lassiter is one of many students to access counseling remotely on campus since August. To lower the risk of contagion and abide by COVID-19 regulations, counseling services have moved completely online. Students can request a session and meet with a counselor via Telehealth. Sarah Hopkins, director of counseling services, said since COVID began she has seen an increase in loneliness and people struggling with how to access good resources and support during this time. “Anxiety and depression are typically the number one causes of counseling referrals on any college camp...

Religion professors shift course content to equip students for ministry in COVID-19 era

9Feb

By Caitlin LassiterNo Comments

Coronavirus, Features, Spiritual Life

Religion professors shift course content to equip students for ministry in COVID-19 era

As Tim Green sits down to plan the syllabus for his Fall 2020 Old Testament Theology class, there’s one thing he knows with certainty: he can’t teach this class the same way he has in previous years. Green, dean of the Millard Reed School of Theology and Christian Ministry, said a Zoom conversation with other Nazarene Old Testament professors across the country confirmed his feelings that the course needed to be redesigned from the ground up in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and other 2020 tragedies. “Can we ignore the elephant in the room and teach this like we would any old time?” Green asked himself. Immediately, he knew he couldn’t. So the redesign began. “For the group that made up our class, the elephant in the room was that their spring semester ended in March and the...

Chapel Redesign Moves Services Across Campus, Online for Spring 2021 Semester

28Jan

By Caitlin LassiterNo Comments

Campus News, Coronavirus, Spiritual Life

Chapel Redesign Moves Services Across Campus, Online for Spring 2021 Semester

Trevecca chapel is back to meeting in-person this semester and requirements and fines will be enforced again. After a semester of no required attendance and all virtual chapels, a return to previous chapel plans and requirements is underway. Students will be required to wear masks and socially distance and the number of required chapels is 14 this semester, instead of the usual 24. Online viewing was down last semester when attendance wasn’t a requirement, so a shift back to mandatory chapel credits is necessary to get students to engage with the content on a regular basis, University Chaplain Erik Gernand said. With more than 24 options for attendance this semester, Worship & Witness chapels will be held Tuesdays at 9:30 a.m. in Boone Convocation, Benson Audito...

12Nov

By Maci WeeksNo Comments

Coronavirus, Features, Sports

Navigating cold and flu season during a global pandemic

Alumni won’t be at Homecoming: Events planned for current students

2Nov

By trevechoesonlineNo Comments

Alumni, Campus News, Coronavirus, Events

Alumni won’t be at Homecoming: Events planned for current students

By Diana Leyva Jacob Alumni won't be able to come to the hill for homecoming this year. Instead, campus officials are planning virtual events to attempt to connect with alumni in the midst of a pandemic that makes gatherings like homecoming impossible. “I think for our emotional well-being, it is important to try to capture as much of a sense of normalcy, so that's what we hope to do by sharing these virtual events,” said Michael Johnson, director of alumni and church engagement. An online kit is available for $25, which includes access to the virtual live stream, a Trevecca mask and t-shirt, candy, and popcorn. Ten dollars from each purchase will go towards the Fund for Trevecca Scholarship. While university officials aren't allowing anyone on campus other tha...

Voice instructors adapt to teaching in a pandemic

24Oct

By Caitlin LassiterNo Comments

Coronavirus, Features, Music

Voice instructors adapt to teaching in a pandemic

Students participate in vocal seminar while wearing masks and practicing social distancing. Photo courtesy of Professor Bakara Nkenge-Hinds. As Bakara Nkenge-Hinds sits down at the piano to begin her first lesson of the day, a mask covering the instrument she has spent years perfecting and a plexiglass barrier between her and the student, one thing is clear: this is not the way she envisioned her first semester teaching at Trevecca Nazarene University. Nkenge-Hinds, an adjunct voice instructor, is well-prepared for the job of training vocalists on a college campus, but nothing could have prepared her for the challenges of teaching students in the middle of a global pandemic-- a pandemic that is riskier for singers because of the airborne-nature of the COVID-19 virus. “Bei...

Students learn to navigate music while socially distant

22Oct

By Grace BecknerNo Comments

Coronavirus, Features, Music

Students learn to navigate music while socially distant

Choir rehearsal takes place socially distant. Photo provided by Trevecca Marketing. For Selah Torralba, a sophomore instrumental music performance major, her current experience as a member of the Concert Choir is miles away from what she remembers it being last year. “There used to be rehearsals with anywhere from 10 to 30 people in one rehearsal,” Torralba said. “And now, any sort of larger ensemble is broken up into smaller sections.” Trevecca’s music department has placed its focus on trying to be as prepared as possible for the complications of in-person learning this semester, said David Diehl, the dean of the school of music and worship arts. “We took a very research-based approach to figuring out the best way to offer a quality face-to-face experience that is safe,” D...

Resident assistants struggle to create community with new procedures

15Oct

By trevechoesonlineNo Comments

Campus News, Coronavirus

Resident assistants struggle to create community with new procedures

By Lena Gurley Rather than training at a cabin and kayaking with her fellow resident assistants during the annual back to school training sessions, Sydnee Pendergraff had to sit six feet apart from other RAs, wear a mask, and listen to a lecture about new COVID-19 procedures. “It was definitely a bit more extensive than last year’s training,” said Pendergraff, a Johnson Hall RA. Pendergraff is one of 41 RAs trying to enforce new COVID-19 guidelines in the dorms. Instead of bringing the residents in her hall together to create a sense of community, she finds herself forced to encourage people to stay six feet apart to protect the community. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines dictated the process of opening the ...

Students search for places to spend time safely with friends and family

8Oct

By trevechoesonlineNo Comments

Coronavirus, Features

Students search for places to spend time safely with friends and family

By Carter Adams On the way out the door, Kurtis Poole—a junior majoring in math and worship arts—grabs his phone, wallet, keys, watch, and mask. He racks his brain on a decent spot to meet up with his friends, but it’s not as easy as it once was. “Centennial park usually works because it’s outside, and people are usually separated,” Poole said. There is still a high threat level for COVID-19, and many students are looking for safe places to spend time with their friends and family. Trevecca continues to require students to stay socially distant, and wear masks unless actively eating and drinking or in their own residence. Restrictions still exist on visitors in residence halls and dorms, and students have to find creative solutions that are compliant with guid...