“We Want Everyone to Always Be Welcome”

Translation: Bergrún Andradóttir

Erna Lea Bergsteinsdóttir is a second-year student in Social Work and president of the Student Council’s Social and Cultural Life Committee. A journalist from the Student Paper met with Erna Lea recently to discuss the role of the committee and how it has been affected by the pandemic. 

“We’re taking great care”

Stúdentablaðið/Helga Lind

Asked what the Social and Cultural Life Committee’s main projects are, Erna Lea responds that its primary goal is working against social isolation of students at the university. “That way, everyone has some social events to attend and can create social connections with their fellow students and so on. I think it’s important that everyone can experience a good social life at university, whatever they’re studying.” Erna adds that there are also regular events that the committee oversees during the school year: “For example, there are the Minute Games at Oktoberfest, a field trip (vísindaferð) to the Student Council, the Funniest Student contest, Party Bingo, and a field trip to Þrennan.” 

She says it's tough to work on these traditional projects in times like these. When this interview took place, the committee had still not been able to hold any events due to the current circumstances. “The committee is waiting to see what happens, and of course we’re also working on events that are appropriate given the current situation, but it's difficult, especially since we’re not a student union (nemendafélag). Each student union is bound to one department, but we’re in charge of everyone at the university, and we don’t want to pick and choose who can attend and who can’t or anything like that. We want everyone to always be welcome. That’s why we’re taking great care and planning around COVID-19, but also trying to be optimistic and hold on to hope that we will be able to hold some events during the school year, so we’re also preparing for that,” says Erna Lea. 

“There are all sorts of possibilities” 

Asked if the committee is working on some virus-appropriate versions of events, Erna replies that the committee is considering holding events online. “I don’t want to reveal all of the ideas that we have, since we haven’t confirmed these events or even figured out if we can make them work. We’ve been brainstorming since the start of the school year and many great ideas have come out. Back then the situation was different than what it is now, so we’re revising and working it out week by week.” Erna adds that about the time the interview took place, the committee was organizing an online party bingo that they want to make as fun as possible. “This won’t just be someone reading numbers on a screen, we want it to be as funny and entertaining as possible. There are all sorts of possibilities,” she says.

The committee has been hard at work organizing events in a more traditional form once the opportunity arises. “A field trip (vísó) to the Student Council was approved at a Student Council meeting. Traditionally, this event is held at the beginning of the school year, but obviously that was not possible. However, we really want to go ahead with it and are waiting for the opportunity. Then, for example, the Funniest Student contest and the trip to Þrennan are usually held in the spring, but there’s no way of knowing what the situation will be like by then. Of course, we hope we’ll be able to hold those events as usual,” Erna remarks. However, we shouldn’t assume that the committee’s upcoming events will involve people gathering. “We’re constantly re-evaluating the situation and want to be able to have some fun events as soon as possible. It would be so sad to have organized some fun event, arranged everything, and then have to cancel because of stricter measures due to COVID. We want to avoid that happening,” says Erna. 

Important to try and be creative

The Student Paper asks Erna if she thinks the current situation has had any positive effect on the committee’s work. She doesn’t think so, but adds that it's a bit too early to say if this will have any positive effects and that she’s trying to look on the bright side. “We need to be creative, and maybe some fun new event will arise out of all of this, which will then become a regular event. That would be positive. To try new things and test the online option and see if that has a positive effect on participation. We just have to wait and see. But of course it’s just so sad to postpone events, and it weighs you down. Oktoberfest and the Minute Games, for example, that’s such a good way for new students to get involved with the social scene on campus, but of course we weren’t able to hold any of that, which is a shame. There’s been no event held for new students, and I think it’s very sad and it does affect their experience of student life. However, it could be fun and something to utilize later, even when we can meet again. It could work out well,” Erna Lea says. 

Finally, Erna Lea would like to encourage students to actively participate in student life as possible. She especially encourages new students to put in the work of meeting new people. “It’s harder during times like these, but I feel it's very important. Be open and patient with the situation, and hopefully this will be over soon.”