Posted by Joe P in Questions for the Candidates - COVID-19
This is another question for anybody who wants to answer.

By far the biggest event in real life around the entire world has been the COVID-19 global pandemic. Although the worst of it may be over in some parts of the world, in other parts it is still going on, and it could get worse with very little advance warning unless herd immunity is achieved (hopefully with a reliable vaccine) or the virus mutates and becomes less deadly.

The pandemic has obviously affected the club; at least one member has died (Liz Rahuba), I know some other members have lost their jobs or have had to adjust to working under less than ideal conditions, or have to deal with children in the home all the time instead of being in school, and I think many of us also know someone in our friends or family who may have gotten sick.

On the other hand, many people are spending a lot more time on the Internet, and that means we also have a lot of people who are in the club and doing things here now that they wouldn’t have been otherwise inclined to do. That’s a small thing in the grand scheme of everything that is happening in our lives, but it’s kind of a big deal for the club. The club has reacted to all of this in different ways as the situation developed. Sometimes those reactions were not entirely consistent. Other times, those reactions might have been based around the idea that this was a sort of short term emergency that would quickly resolve itself; now it seems like the pandemic is going to be a “new normal” that we have to adjust to for a while.

As of right now, there is no ticket that has said anything at all about the pandemic, yet the pandemic is actually having some pretty dramatic effects on the club in a very direct way that we’re not used to real life events doing. So, I’m just curious:

Is there anything you plan to do about the pandemic during the next term if you are elected President? If yes, why? If not, why not?

Joe

Hey Joe,
As one of those that lost their job and was personally touched by COVID (my mother’s sister contracted it and though she made it out alright, over a dozen people in her little nursing home died), I think the pandemic is the elephant in the room everyone has tried to ignore but it hasn’t worked. The pandemic has, honestly, opened up a lot of people’s time and encouraged us all to connect and engage (sorry, couldn’t help it!) in ways different than the ‘before times’. While the community has organically rose to the occasion, as far as what I and James would like to see is us to turn a bad situation into a good one by reaching out and loving on members in new ways… if for any other reason than for us not to feel so alone.

I would like to see monthly (or weekly, depending on interest) Discord-supported watch parties for the movies and maybe even some favorite episodes. Further, maybe establish Discord-based Discussion panels for Concellation 2020 to discuss the history of our organization and Trek online RP in general. I think it would be a great way to reach a group of over 30,000 people from all over the world about how great our club is! In addition, I would also love to host weekly Social Hours on Discord chat to bring people together to visit more outside of text.

In general, while the world is taking a breather, we should be reaching out to those that want something fun and enjoyable to take their minds off the collective mess we find ourselves in! Together, I think we could not only grow the club but come closer as a family as well.

Thanks again,
Davis/Sinclair 2020
Improve, Reform, & Engage