COVID-19: Are online CCAs the way to go?

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

1 November 2020

Students in bright-coloured traditional wear, admiring red lanterns hanging between adjacent shophouses in Chinatown.

20 Christians with heads bowed and hands clasped, gathering in a Training Room for prayer.

These were NTU's Heritage Club and NTU Cru in 2019. None of them could have imagined how different 2020 would be with the now-ubiquitous strict COVID-19 safety measures in place.

Thankfully, circuit-breaker measures took place during the academic term break. This gave CCA Executive Committees (EXCOs) time to deliberate over how to proceed with club activities. Balancing between following regulations and not compromising their CCA goals proved difficult, as many resorted to moving their CCA to online platforms.

NTU Cru

For NTU's Christian fellowship group, NTU Cru, activities like "Crossroads" were shifted online. Before COVID-19, Crossroads is a weekly worshipping activity that involved a group of 20 students.

Members were involved in icebreakers before their worship leader leads in the singing of worship songs. Lyrics were brightly flashed onto the projector. Gatherings were always fun-filled, with singing, clapping of hands, prayers, and meaningful discussions.

The heart of the session is singing. However, as the CCA switched over to Zoom calls, the same joy from physical sessions were absent. Delays in online transmission meant that microphones had to be muted during sessions. Members, too, needed to remain tactful in order to not talk over each other.

The most significant loss felt by the CCA was the restricted engagement between members.

"Having it online meant that interaction time between different people was significantly reduced. So now, the club's activities are mostly decentralized." Julia Teo, the club's president, stated.

Teo added that this is "not necessarily a bad thing" as the situation came at a time where the EXCO decided to focus on "Disciple Group". "Disciple Group" was a session where smaller groups study the Bible together. This worked in the CCA's favour.

Heritage Club

While NTU Cru had a relatively smooth transition, other clubs were not as fortunate. Heritage Club had ceased most activities ever since the COVID-19 regulations had been put in place.

The club's primary goal is to promote appreciation towards heritage and culture in Singapore through conducting events in school or bringing members on trails.

With the closure of many tourist attractions, trails are not deemed feasible. Having events online does not allow for an immersive experience for the members, so they are put on hold to adhere to social distancing measures.

Members are gathered online over Zoom to keep their bonds alive. Yet, it is a far cry from what bonding sessions used to be.

"Although virtual bonding sessions are still held, I cannot help but feel that there are some essential elements to the bonding that are missing," Ooi Wei Chern, president of Heritage Club, sighed.

Trapped, we look for the light at the end of the tunnel: The future.

The upside? As we usher in Phase 3 at the end of this year, safety measures are expected to be eased. CCA members can then gather in larger groups.

But not all will be normal again. Phase 3 is expected to last over a year. Widespread administration of a vaccine is only predicted to be issued in the latter half of 2021, and only then can CCAs fully resume physical sessions. It will be a long time before CCAs can return to what they were before.

So are online CCAs the way to go? Yes, for now, and maybe for a while to come. But perhaps, we can choose to see the silver lining and take this in stride. What presents a better chance for us, to cherish what we have and experiment with conducting CCAs differently?