On Thursday, Oct. 29 William Jewell College announced changes to the spring semester schedule. The regularly scheduled Spring Break will be removed in favor of taking five miscellaneous days off throughout the semester. Each respective class is planned to have a single mode of delivery for the entirety of the semester. Additionally, all students, faculty and staff will be required to take a COVID-19 test prior to the beginning of the spring semester.

The email announcement from Dr. Anne Dema, provost, and Shelly King, dean of students, stated that rather than having a week off for Spring Break, there will be no classes on: Friday, Feb. 5; Wednesday, Feb. 24; Tuesday, March 16; Thursday March 18; and Wednesday, April 14.

“Faculty will be encouraged to make a clear statement in spring syllabi that these are days off, and they recognize the importance these breaks have to the student experience” the email stated.

These days off are intended to reduce interruptions while still providing breaks throughout the semester. They are intended to truly be days off – without increased workload for students.

“This change enables a less interrupted mid-semester schedule, which is a time that often involves personal travel, thus mitigating increased exposure risks… The College will still observe one Advising Day (Mar. 30 (T)), Good Friday (Apr. 2), Easter Monday (Apr. 5), and Colloquium Day (Apr. 23), meaning there are no classes on these days.  Feedback from faculty and student surveys indicate that this is the best option among those considered, other than wishing things were normal and no changes were needed and we could enjoy a normal Spring Break – a hopeful position but one that doesn’t seem likely,” stated the email announcement.

Each respective class intends to have a single method of delivery for the duration of the semester. Each professor will choose a mode of delivery prior to the start of classes. The College does not intend to go completely virtual other than when it may be required by Operation Safe Campus.

All students, faculty and staff will be required to participate in COVID-19 testing prior to returning to campus in January 2021. Faculty, staff and select student groups will have an opportunity to test Wednesday, Jan. 6 on campus. Employees – excluding those essential to on-campus operation – will work virtually the week of Jan. 4 – Jan. 8.

Students, both returning and new students, will be tested during the week of Jan. 11 – either on-campus or through an at-home test.

Results of these tests will determine when members of the community are able to return to campus. If faculty and staff test negative, they will return to campus Jan. 11. If students test negative, they may return to campus beginning Jan. 17. Spring semester classes will begin Jan. 19.

After opening Jan. 17, residence halls will remain open until the end of the semester.

Everyone who tests positive will be expected to follow the Isolation Guidelines in Operation Safe Campus. The College will provide more details about the testing in the future.

The email announcement also confirmed that commencement is planned for May 15, 2021. The plans will be adapted as needed given the state of COVID-19 at the time.

The changes to the calendar were approved by the president’s cabinet and were informed by feedback from faculty and staff. The email emphasized the need to make the changes now in order to begin planning for the spring.

“Please know that none of these decisions were made lightly or in haste. They are the result of good deliberations among members of the Jewell community with the best interests of all in mind and a desire to be proactive in support of Operation Safe Campus,” stated the email.

Those with questions or concerns are encouraged to contact Olivia Eggleston, Student Senate president and senior nonprofit leadership and Applied Critical Thought and Inquiry major; King; Dr. Ian Coleman, faculty council chairman; Chris McCabe, staff council chairman; or Dema.

On Oct. 2, William Jewell College announced that the Student Senate Cabinet “Your Voice on the Hill” won the annual election. The Cabinet consists of Olivia Eggleston, senior nonprofit leadership and Applied Critical Thought and Inquiry major, as president; Tavarus Pennington, junior communication and English major, as vice president; Grace Garbe, junior communication and nonprofit leadership major, as secretary; and Ireland Hawkins, senior accounting major, as treasurer.

The new Cabinet will host the first Senate meeting of the 2020-2021 year Oct. 13.

Elections for Student Senate Cabinet began Sept. 30 and concluded at the end of the day Oct. 1. To conduct the election, the office of student life used ElectionRunner – a third party service. This service failed to provide every student with a ballot Sept. 30. 

When ballots were initially sent out, 118 students did not receive ballots. To resolve this issue, Tracy Hart, administrative assistant in student life, had to individually send all 118 students ballots. Shelly King, dean of students, confirmed that all students eventually received ballots. She sent an all-student email notifying those who did not receive ballots to contact Hart, in order to insure every student was able to vote. King assured that ElectionRunner will not be used for any future elections.

Elections for student senator positions were set to take place from Oct. 5 to Oct. 6. Only four students ran for student senator positions, and all were installed as senators Oct. 5. Student Senate is comprised of sixteen students in addition to the cabinet – with four students representing each grade. 

Three first-years filed to run for Senate and will now represent the class: Chloe McDonnell, Oxbridge: History of Ideas major; Luke Zahnd, Oxbridge: Institutions and Policy major; and Calvin Heit, Oxbridge: Institutions and Policy major. One student ran to be a sophomore class representative and is now installed on Senate: Gabrielle Fournier, Spanish and international relations major.

The remaining 12 positions will be filled according to the appointment process defined in the Student Senate constitution.

“The executive cabinet shall appoint a full-time William Jewell student to fill any vacant seat. The appointee shall be approved by a simple majority vote of the senate,” the constitution states.

The Cabinet will need to appoint one first-year, three sophomores, four juniors and four seniors. During the annual Student Senate debates, “Your Voice on the Hill” claimed they would intentionally appoint some independent students in order to confirm independent representation on Senate – as everyone on the Cabinet is a member of Greek Life.

King commented on the low number of students running for Senate.

“Over the past few years, we’ve only had to hold elections for first-year students due to the lack of interest,” King said.

The Hilltop Monitor will publish the names of all senators once they are appointed.

William Jewell College’s Gender Issues and Feminism Club (GIF) kicked off the first semester by introducing condoms and menstrual products to a number of on-campus buildings as part of their first project. While the menstrual products provided by GIF operate on a take one, leave one basis, GIF was able to work with Nurse Brown and Health Services to receive funding for condoms, which will be continually refilled throughout the school year.

GIF’s efforts to bring condoms to residence halls on campus ended a long struggle to bring contraceptives directly to Jewell students in their living spaces. Before GIF’s distribution, condoms were only available to students through the Health Center or Dr. Tricia Hager. Jewell students have made many attempts to bring contraceptives to campus, especially within the last seven years. Student Senate attempted to bring condoms to Jewell’s campus twice, but both efforts fell through. Shelly King, dean of students, was able to provide more insight.

“The first time, the feedback received from the student body regarding condom distribution on campus was very low. The second time, Senate voted as a group to provide condoms on campus in the [residence] halls. Unfortunately, they made it the responsibility of the RAs in each building to keep them stocked. The next senate cabinet did not move forward with pursuing this,” King said.

Though past efforts by Jewell’s Student Senate cabinets did not hold up, GIF is determined to keep up with the distribution of condoms as part of their work towards being an active club on campus. This was one of GIF’s first on-campus projects to create a more sex-positive environment and to encourage students to join a club that was able to take action towards their goals.

This year’s GIF Cabinet Chairs include: Engagement Chair Catherine Dema, senior Oxbridge: History of Ideas and physics major; Project Management Chair Christina Kirk, senior Oxbridge: Institutions and Policy and international relations major; Events Chair Madison Carroll, senior Oxbridge: Institutions and Policy and international relations major; Communications Chair Lydia Enge, junior political science and communications major; and Financial Chair Langston Riddle, first-year Oxbridge: Institutions and Policy major. 

GIF undertook the project of bringing contraceptives to Jewell’s campus as a way to make their presence known to students and to show that they are a club that believes in taking action. Their aim on campus is to become involved with other clubs and to complete more projects that will engage Jewell students on issues relating to gender and sex. They also plan to host events that will comply with Jewell’s current COVID-19 guidelines, while also helping students with a variety of issues.

The move to bring contraceptives like condoms into Jewell’s residence halls has already seen some success and positive feedback from students. GIF was able to finish a project that has long been neglected on Jewell’s campus due to a number of different problems. Condoms and menstrual products were put in baskets around campus by GIF Chairs and will be maintained by the group throughout the year.

GIF used club funds to pay for menstrual products, which will hopefully stay self-sustained with their take one, leave one initiative. GIF is hopeful that the introduction of contraceptives to campus will foster a new environment of sex-positivity. Events Chair Madison Carroll spoke with the Monitor about her thoughts on the impact these actions would have on students.

“I hope that students will use the products and feel free to contact us regarding getting financial assistance for other amenities, like pregnancy tests and Plan B. I hope this gives students a more accessible way to get these products if they have a financial need. Studies have also shown that providing contraceptives in dormitories can create a more sex-positive atmosphere on campus which I think is something Jewell needs and hope that comes as a result of this initiative,” Carroll said.

William Jewell College is overhauling its incoming student orientation mentor program for fall 2020 as part of Jewell’s radical inclusivity efforts and the College’s response to COVID-19. The changes to the mentor program include the dissolution of the student leadership team and the inclusion of virtual diversity, COVID-19 and social media training activities to be undertaken in the weeks leading up to orientation.

In past years the orientation program was made up of an orientation director, orientation advisors and incoming student mentors. This year the program is eliminating the roles of the leadership team, which is composed of the orientation director and advisors. Those on the leadership team will now be mentors, and the program will not have the same structured hierarchy. 

Rather than having the leadership team, the orientation program will increase the involvement of staff members. Student life staff will now assume responsibility for all aspects of orientation – including the Jewell orientation social media pages. By reassigning those in leadership positions, more mentors will be available to interact with incoming students, account for increased enrollment and navigate newly online aspects of orientation.

Shelly King, dean of students, described student life’s motivations for making the necessary changes by sharing a portion of an email sent to mentors July 1.

“As we reflected on how we prepare for our new students, we identified significant gaps in our approach, the training provided mentors and the foci of Orientation. Therefore, we decided to completely revise our Orientation Program,” the email said. “One element influencing our approach is COVID-19, so we are making changes to be sure we are working within the strategic framework outlined in the email sent to you on June 26.”

“Another important element is acknowledgement that our approach did not embrace inclusion and equity as a mindset and practice to the extent needed, so we are increasing our focus on the education and practice of equity and inclusion, as mentors we believe this will help better prepare you to welcome our new students and cultivate their sense of belonging to the Jewell Community,” the email continued.

Of the mentors in the 2020 orientation program, 100 percent identify as white, while 30 percent of the incoming first-year class and 56 percent of transfer students identify as non-white.  This significant disparity contributed to recognizing the program’s failure to be sufficiently inclusive and equitable.

Members of the leadership team and mentors for fall 2020 orientation were notified of the changes in early July and were given the option whether to remain with the program.

“We started with 31 mentors and six students on the leadership team, including the director. One mentor decided not to return to Jewell so that takes us to 30 mentors. We now have 24 mentors, including two students that were on the leadership team. Eight mentors did not return so we retained 73% of our mentors. Two students from the leadership team are now mentors so we retained 33%. The other four students from the leadership team are no longer involved with Orientation,” King said.

All mentors will now be required to participate in an online educational program – beginning July 9 – to increase their preparation for welcoming incoming students. 

The program will consist of staff-led weekly activities – some synchronous and some asynchronous – totaling in between one to two hours of commitment per week through July and August. This process of staff-led training differs from previous years of mentor training – which were led by the student leadership teams and took place in two days in August.

The weekly activities and meetings will focus on social media, creating a sense of belonging, COVID-19 training, understanding the role of a mentor, diversity and inclusion, anti-racism and generally preparing for orientation in the time of COVID-19. All mentors will also be required to take the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) survey and participate in a process of reflection upon their results.

Mentors will be required to take an anti-racist training course from the Diversity and Resiliency Institute of El Paso. This training consists of six total hours of content divided into three different modules. 

Mentors will be given a stipend for completing all required training. Failure to complete the programs – including taking the IDI, debriefing on the IDI and completing the anti-racism training course to receive a certificate – will result in a mentor forfeiting this stipend and their role as a mentor.

King says she hopes to keep all educational components of the mentor program in future years. She notes they may be presented differently in the future in the absence of a pandemic, but any such decisions would be made later in the academic year.

“We believe restructuring will enhance our ability to engage more directly with our new students, while still drawing on the talents of students in the Mentor Program, and creating new opportunities for mentors to understand and become enthusiastic about our diversity and inclusion emphasis and initiatives,” stated the July 1 email to mentors.

King discussed the new programming for mentors and future plans for additional changes.

“During the interview process, each candidate was asked if they would stay in touch with their mentees during the first semester. Everyone said yes so that is still an expectation that will not change. As for specific programming that is new after Orientation, we will have mentors encourage our new students to attend the Student Radical Inclusivity Workshop in the fall. We may add another programming event for mentors but that has not yet been decided,” King said.

Incoming students from underrepresented backgrounds may also participate in the Shape Your Future program. Through this program, older student guides aid those incoming students’ transition to Jewell. These guides were invited to participate in the program because they are BIPOC, from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds or otherwise are underrepresented in higher education. This program will ensure the diverse incoming class will interact with similarly diverse returning students. Look for a Hilltop Monitor article on the inaugural program soon.