The Current | Vol. 31 Issue 15

The Student-Run Newspaper of Nova Southeastern University November 17, 2020 | Vol. 31, Issue 15 | nsucurrent.nova.edu The Breakroom offers some normalcy to NSU students P. 9 Ace visibility: What asexuality really is Running: It’s not as difficult as you think Festive foods for the holiday break That time I: Completed NaNoWriMo (twice) P. 11 P. 7 P. 4 Sports Opinions Features Arts & Entertainment Kappa Delta Pi Omega Theta wins the Professional Development Chapter Program Award Last month, it was announced that NSU’s international honor society in education, the Kappa Delta Pi (KDP) Omega Theta chapter, won the 2019-2020 Professional Development Chapter Program Award. The award recognizes KDP chapters who have made notable advancements in the field. KDP Omega Theta put together five professional development presentations with participants selected from over 200 participants that included NSU FCE faculty, students, staff and alumni. “It is a great honor to receive the 2019- 2020 Professional Development Chapter Program Award. This recognition goes a long way in supporting the chapter’s work to upholding service, one of the pillars of KDP,” said Sandra Trotman, the chapter’s advisor and counselor. “We are very proud to be ranked among other KDP chapters as leaders in service learning. This Excellence in Education honor is significant to the NSU Greek life [because] it exemplifies that our contributions are significant and ranked as preeminent to society and world education. Receiving this award is a great accomplishment for our chapter as we continue to enrich Greek life with our presence at NSU’s main campus and in Puerto Rico,” said Maria Grethel Mendez, chapter advisor and associate counselor for KDP Omega Theta. The five presentations KDP Omega Theta put together for the award were “COVID-19 ‘New Normal’: Reshaping the teaching/learning platform,” “Economic, Entrepreneurial and Educational Perspectives in the Pandemic Era Conference,” “Professional development for teachers on the management and use of different platforms for virtual classrooms at the time of a pandemic,” “Special Education Forum” and “Beyond the book cover.” According to Trotman and Mendez, the presentations highlight the need to strive as an organization, and that these service learning activities involved participants from the U.S., St. Vincent, Puerto Rico (and other Spanish- speaking countries), Jamaica and other countries. KDP Omega Theta also has plans for how NSU students can help with their future endeavors. “To continue with our mission of service, we would like to invite all NSU’s Greek life members, students, faculty and staff to join us in fulfilling a literacy project. The 2020-21 Literacy Project provides an opportunity for targeted communities to collaborate to give PreK to six students the opportunity to engage in one hour of reading activities and related science, technology, reading, engineering, arts and mathematics (STREAM)... With this, as you update your technology tools, like smart phones, laptops and computers, please consider donating them to be used for the rural schools where we will be conducting a STREAM program to assist not only the Pre-K-6 students, but also their teachers and their communities,” said Trotman. Anyone interested in donating their used technology tools to the project can drop them off to Trotman on the fourth floor of the Carl DeSantis Building. Since October, NSU’s RecPlex has offered students the opportunity to attend The Breakroom, a program that takes place Monday through Friday at the RecPlex basketball courts, where students can play games and watch live sports while socializing safely following CDC guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19. According to Christopher Anguita, assistant director of intramural and club sports at the RecPlex, this event idea was conceived in March during the start of the COVID-19 outbreak as Anguita’s team projected what the future of RecPlex programs would look like. The goal was to make sure that students felt active and engaged to a point that it sparked unity and a sense of community, despite the challenging times of the pandemic. “It’s certainly trying to network and bring the students together, but how do you do that in a time when you are being told to socially distance? I came to think, ‘What can we do to get students engaged physically and mentally?’ So, we thought about a breakroom and the type of resources we could provide. We thought of video games initially, but wanted students to still feel active, soWii gaming provides that. We also came up with Mario Franchise games like Super Mario and Mario Kart as well as live sports and lawn games like cornhole,” saidAnguita. As this program is still relatively new, there have been some changes to the times that The Breakroomis available, and potentially, what and where these activities are provided by widening the overall availability. As of now, the hours fluctuate based on participation and interest in the program. Hours are focused primarily during lunch, after class times and prior to study hours. “We want to provide times that accommodate studentsduringtimesthattheycanenjoythemselves, which generally fall between lunch hours, before study times and after class. We’re seeing an interest in The Breakroom, but I’m finding that, being more strategic in terms of location, might be more helpful to students. Instead of students coming to [the RecPlex], I’m working with The Office of Residential Life and Student Housing and Greek Life organizations to provide services to them in spaces students are more comfortable with. The idea is to get the students involved in a way that works for them where they are most comfortable,” saidAnguita. Marie Adkinson, area coordinator for Mako Hall,explainedthattheironceamonthcollaboration with The Breakroom is an opportunity to find the middle ground between a fun activity for students to participate inwhile tying in the required educational programming commitments that residential life abides by. “We are looking for the most creative ways to program that are the most productive, educational and the safest while also being engaging to students. So, there are all these elements that everyone across campus is trying to navigate, and with the resources that The Breakroom can provide, we can make our programming fun and entertaining,” saidAdkinson. Plans for this program next semester have involved conversations about widening the availability to other residential halls and main campus locations as well as the possibility of starting a league competition to spark a sense of camaraderie between students. “I certainly think The Breakroom will create that connection piece that we really don’t know how to [attain] right now...We are trying to find that bridge [between safety and socialized programs] and that’s complicated. This acts as one of those first steps to creating an idea of how programs can be safe as well as having a nice, social element that is keeping students connected,” saidAdkinson. Students are welcome to contact the RecPlex to provide any ideas or thoughts they have for By: Rey Perez Contributing Writer programs they would like to see instituted in The Breakroom, as long as they are a service the RecPlex is capable of providing. Individuals interested in learningmore aboutTheBreakroom or other RecPlex programs can visit their website to learn more. PRINTED WITH PERMISSION BY C. ANGUITA The Recplex’s Breakroom allows NSU students to get together and hang out while following CDC guidelines By: Christina McLaughlin Co-Editor-in-Chief