The Current | Vol. 31 Issue 27

March 23, 2021 | nsucurrent.nova.edu 3 Get the scoop on events happening on campus and around campus Shark Pride Friday (throwback edition) The Student Event and Activities (SEA) Board and the Inter Organizational Council (IOC) have joined forces for another Shark Pride Friday. Forget “throwback Thursday” and enjoy a “throwback Friday” on March 26 from noon to 1 p.m. in the Don Taft University Center. Break out your baggy t-shirt and jeans and don’t forget your mask as COVID-19 guidelines will be strictly enforced. For more information, stay up to date by following SEA Board’s Instagram: @nsuseaboard. eSharks virtual events Interested in attending virtual events from home? eSharks has you covered. Mark your calendars for a jean distressing workshop taking place on Saturday, March 27 at 2 p.m. and a creating suncatchers workshop on Sunday, March 28 at 1 p.m. For more information leading up to the event, look out for the SharkFins newsletter in your inbox every Tuesday. Sharks and Service Interested in taking your involvement in your community a step further? Sharks and Service Site Leader applications are open until March 26, with interviews occurring the week of March 29. This leadership position runs for a full year, giving students hands-on experience in the surrounding community. To check out some of their projects and how they have involved the student body in service throughout the pandemic, check out their Instagram, @sas_ nsu. For more information on the Site Leader position, visit the Sharks and Service SharkHub page. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Office presents negotiations workshop Interested in learning more about a salary negotiation? The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Office will host a virtual Zoom session highlighting ways to sharpen your negotiation skills. This workshop will take place on Tuesday, March 30 at 6 p.m. via Zoom. Computer Camp workshop Need to improve your technology skills since the world has gone virtual? Join the Computer Camp workshop to learn the basics of hardware and software on Tuesday, March 30 from 1-1:45 p.m. This event is open to the public and will provide further detailed information upon registering. If you are interested in registering, check out this link: https://nova.libcal.com/ event/7519013. News News Briefs 12th Annual Juried Student Exhibition opens in PVA On March 17, the 12th annual Juried Student Exhibition opened with a virtual opening and reception held via Zoom. The Juried Student Exhibition will be open in Gallery 217 of the Don Taft University Center until April 16. Guy Harvey, a marine wildlife artist and long-time sponsor of NSU’s arts and natural sciences departments, presented at the virtual opening and reception as part of the department of communication, media and the art’s Know your Worth series and judged the artwork on display. According to Kandy Lopez- Moreno, an associate professor of art and design in the department of communication, media and the arts at NSU’s Halmos College of Arts and Sciences, “The artwork that has come out of [the exhibition] is really high quality work… I think that we have a lot of talented students that are in the art and design courses, and it’s not just [art] majors. We have [art] minors and non-art majors and science majors that are part of the show. I think it’ll be a very eye opening event for those that are art majors and also those that are non-art majors to see what people are producing now.” Because of the pandemic, the department of communication, media and the arts was unable to put on last year’s Juried Student Exhibition. Instead, this year’s exhibition will showcase art created by students from the previous two years. Of the works on display at the Juried Student Exhibition, the top three works judged by Harvey will receive cash prizes. There will also be faculty choice, dean’s choice and a purchase award, with the purchase award being a piece that will be included in the department of communication, media and the arts’ collection. The piece chosen at the reception will be the eleventh piece of art added to the department’s collection from the Juried Student Exhibition. Guided tours are available upon request. To schedule a tour, reach out to Lopez-Moreno or the department of communication, media and the arts at extension 27620. The Juried Student Exhibition will be housed in Gallery 217, with the hours of operations posted on the department of communication, media and the arts’ social media. Alexander Martinie Opinions Editor With permission to print from E. Cowan. COVID-19 update: NSU is taking a shot at vaccine distribution Between the Zoom calls, classroom capacities, limited gathering sizes and masks covering the faces of every Shark, it’s hard to miss the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on NSU. As of March 21, NSU had 18 active cases of COVID-19 among undergraduate students on campus and an additional 10 cases off campus, bringing the total number of active cases for undergraduate students to 28. Additionally, 19 students were under on-campus quarantines. For more information regarding campus COVID-19 statistics, visit the dashboard on the dedicated COVID-19 website. On March 19, an email was sent to all NSU students, staff and faculty from the Office of the President announcing that the university will begin its first wave of vaccine distribution. The message stated that “while it has taken longer than we had hoped, we are pleased to share with you that NSU has signed an agreement with the Broward County Department of Health for COVID-19 vaccine Point of Administration (POA).” According to the email, at this point in time, this only pertains to the main Fort Lauderdale/Davie campus and the vaccines will be available to “NSU health care workers and our NSU health care students with direct patient contact.” However, the university plans to continue to work with public health officials to expand this rollout if possible. This news follows updated CDC guidelines regarding recommendations for vaccinated individuals, including changes with indoor mask-wearing requirements with other fully vaccinated (having received all required doses of a vaccine two or more weeks ago) persons and more. For official CDC recommendations, visit their updated webpage here, or go to www.cdc.gov/ coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/ fully- vaccinated.html. Beth Welmaker, the executive director of environmental health and safety for NSU, stated that the university is aware of these updates and is determining how this may be reflected in university-specific guidelines moving forward. “We all look forward to the day when no one needs to wear a mask. What we know right now is the vaccine is looking to be 100% effective for keeping those vaccinated out of the hospital. It is not 100% effective in preventing those who have been vaccinated from getting the COVID-19 disease. Approximately 20% of those who have been vaccinated will get COVID-19. Until further notice, NSU will continue to make wearing a face covering mandatory for all NSU locations, but we do seek to actively follow CDC guidance as much as possible -- so that could change, but at this time, mandatory mask-wearing is still in play,” said Welmaker. Madelyn Rinka Co-Editor-in-Chief If a student is having any symptoms, they are advised to reach out to NSU’s Telehealth line at (954) 262-4100, where they will be connected to a physician who will review their symptoms and, if needed, schedule a COVID-19 test on campus. Additionally, students can email COVIDcase@nova.edu to provide updates on their symptoms and test results, even if the results are still pending, and to get assigned a COVID-19 case manager to oversee the situation and offer assistance, if necessary. Emailing COVIDcase will also immediately provide students with the Telehealth number, as well as links to employee and graduate/ professional student report forms, the undergraduate student form and the form to report exposures. Students, staff and faculty can visit NSU’s dedicated website, www.nova.edu/coronavirus, for up to date information regarding COVID-19 at the university.