Barnyard Plans In-Person Events for Spring Weekend

Garrett Kirk ’24

News Editor

The Tripod corresponded with team members from Barnyard, the College’s entertainment activity council, in advance of the annual Spring Weekend undergraduate concert.

Members of Barnyard told the Tripod they “are taking great time and consideration into planning this year’s spring weekend. Although we will not be able to gather the majority of the student body in the same way that we normally do, we certainly have some fun covid-safe in-person and virtual components to announce in the coming weeks.”

Barnyard initially sent a College-wide survey in February to gauge student interest for spring weekend activities. Regarding this survey, Barnyard members said that they “have spent a good bit of time reviewing the survey and are very excited about the rest of Barnyard’s events for spring 2021. We will definitely have a solid mix of in-person and virtual events, assuming it remains covid-safe to do so, in addition to our usual giveaways as well.”

Barnyard noted that they “received an interesting mix of feedback from students through the survey that was distributed in February. One of the largest challenges that we have faced, that was affirmed through the survey, is making our presence known to underclassmen who have not been able to experience many of the staple Barnyard in-person events. We are working to continue the legacy of Barnyard events and ensure that students, both under and upperclassmen, are able to identify Barnyard and associate positive experiences with the organization.”

Barnyard added that their “primary goal in every event that we plan is to create an experience for students that is engaging and enjoyable. Though difficult to cater to every student in every event, we aim to create a broader calendar of events each semester that has something for everyone. This year specifically, we have shifted toward creating experiences that engage the student body, despite the limitations of covid.”

Team members from Barnyard additionally stated that “In previous years, Barnyard has almost solely relied on the ability to plan in-person events, so in many ways it felt as though we had to go back to the drawing board this year. We determined that we would not be able to safely execute many of our staple events in a way that was still fun and engaging for students, and therefore had to employ a great deal of creativity, especially with Spring Weekend. Although we will not be hosting a virtual version of our annual concert, we do have a full weekend of events that we think students will still greatly enjoy, despite them being different from years past.”

Despite the upcoming in-person activities that are planned, safety still remains at the forefront of Barnyard’s agenda. Barnyard team members told the Tripod that they “spend a good bit of our time considering both the Trinity and CT state covid guidelines for in-person events, in addition to working with the Dean’s Office, and consulting the SAIL office, to ensure that everything that we are doing is completely safe for students.”

Safely socializing during a pandemic is a challenging endeavor for everyone, but Barnyard conveyed to the Tripod that “although times may be unprecedented you can still count on Barnyard for some fun surprises.”