The offices within the Division of Diversity and Inclusion, which include the Women's Center, Multicultural Center, LGBT Center and Office of Multicultural Success and Retention, will be operating remotely until Feb. 1 due to the increase in COVID-19 cases.
MaryKathyrine Tran, interim director of the Women’s Center, said her staff easily transitioned to the virtual format. She also said referral resources for students in need remain the same.
“Despite the rise in COVID-19 cases on campus, each department has been extremely malleable to continue to provide excellent student support and quality care,” Tran said in an email.
Since transitioning to remote work this semester, the Women’s Center introduced a virtual workspace that’s open during normal operating hours, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and students can join a Teams meeting to get in contact with staff or get connected to the center’s resources.
Similar to the Women’s Center, Micah McCarey, director of the LGBT Center, said his staff has transitioned to remote work while all support resources have temporarily moved to an online format. Students can still receive support by contacting the LGBT Center by phone at 740-593-0239 or via social media, @OHIOLGBTCenter.
McCarey said the center did, however, lose many of its planned in-person programs.
“The most significant loss in terms of programs we did not transition to a virtual format is the annual in-person queer prom dance party, which the Center has not hosted since Spring Semester 2018,” McCarey said in an email.
As the offices within the Division of Diversity and Inclusion plan to return to in-person work in February, Tran said the Women’s Center would continue to offer hybrid events for students to join.
“Since our return back to the physical office in fall 2021, we continued to recognize the importance of hybrid events,” Tran said in an email. “Many of our events and programs are offered in-person and also livestreamed … This has allowed folks more ease to tune into events which we have found very exciting.”
Future events for the Women’s Center include the annual Take Back the Night event, currently scheduled for April 7, and an evening with activist Jackson Katz, currently scheduled for March 29. While the latter is planned to be virtual, Take Back the Night plans to be in-person so long as COVID-19 protocols allow it.
The LGBT Center also hopes to resume hybrid events once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, including the annual Pride Graduation. The event celebrates graduating students as they join the LGBT alumni family. The event will be held April 15 in Baker Center’s Multipurpose Room and online.
“The LGBT Center now aims to host programs in a hybrid format as often as possible to make events more accessible to those who’d prefer to participate from places like their home or from a regional campus,” McCarey said in an email.
