Interregnum XVI: Interregnum Committee Addresses Concerns
|| Photo courtesy of the Interregnum Committee
As The King’s College is navigating through the COVID-19 outbreak by moving classes online, the Interregnum XVI competition has to adapt to the changes as well. On Saturday, the committee for the school-wide competition decided to make Interregnum an online event, which was announced on their social media platforms.
In years past, Interregnum was a three-day event with an additional final debate evening. This year, the Interregnum XVI competition was changed to be spread throughout two semesters, beginning in November and ending in April. However, with King’s moving all classes online, the Interregnum Committee had to make a decision.
“Progress is often found in times of necessary adaptation,” the Interregnum Packet reads. “We’re facing an Interregnum that’s significantly different than what we know and love, in a time where our lives have been unexpectedly turned upside-down. Yet in this we may find unique opportunity.”
With the changes to the school, the committee discussed options that ranged from canceling Interregnum all together to moving it full-scale online. In the end, the administration encouraged the committee to make it as full-scale as possible.
Abby Smith, the Interregnum Chair, believes that this year’s Interregnum theme “Progress,” is especially fitting for the current situation.
“Progress is all about evaluating the benefits of technological advantages,” Smith said. “We are not only talking about it now, but we are living it out. If people have the right perspective, Interregnum can still foster community.”
In the packet, specific changes have been outlined concerning the competitions. The only competition that was cut from this year’s Interregnum is Performing Arts. Smith noted that the committee went through the list of competitions and asked each other, “Which ones can we preserve and adapt online?” and Performing Arts was the only one that could not be adapted.
The competitions will be weighted differently, due to losing Performing Arts, and the attendance requirements have been shifted. Prior to COVID-19, every full-time, on-campus student had to attend three events, but now it is only required to attend two. It is still required to attend Opening Lecture and Final Debate, but Smith encourages the student body that they will probably be more relaxed and more on the “side of giving grace” for certain situations. In addition, the makeup requirements are going to be more relaxed for students who cannot attend.
|| Photo courtesy of the Interregnum Committee
Some students have taken to Twitter to express their concerns moving forward with the changes to the competition and voice that Interregnum is not necessary at this time. With school being moved online, some students believe Interregnum will only add to the stress.
“We are concerned that people are seeing it as more of a burden than a fun thing,” Smith said. “We strongly believe if people put in the work and muster up the energy that this will be good for the King’s community. We need community more than ever right now. If people have the right perspective, it still has the potential to benefit the student body.”
Smith is concerned that the student body won’t engage and she is worried that this will land on the shoulders of the House Executive teams. She notes that this is not on the job description for House Executive teams and that the house needs to come together to help each other.
“I would like to encourage students to take initiative in participating in the competitions so it doesn’t fall on their leaders,” Smith said. “We believe in the potential, especially given the context of ‘Progress’. We want to encourage people to lean into that, motivate people, motivate yourself because we need unifying right now. So, let’s see what is possible.”
Specific competitions will be harder to perform than others, some students have pointed out, mainly the debates. With it no longer being in person this year, people question how teams can communicate with each other during the rounds or ask POIs (Point of Information). The committee said that they are going to do test runs on Zoom this following week and send out a Zoom Guidelines documents. Smith, as someone who has debated during Interregnum, has thought of ways that participants can potentially chat on their phones or have an ongoing phone call between each other. But, more details will be released this week addressing these concerns.
“We are missing the fullness of the word ‘together’ to have a school-wide competition. This has the potential to take off a lot of the energy and enthusiasm. But we asked ourselves, ‘Is Interregnum possible? Are we able to accomplish our goals?’ and the answer is yes.”
The committee is aware of the struggle it takes to adapt but overall they are positive about the outcome.
“For students who are struggling with Interregnum going online, we want them to remember that this is not permanent,” Smith said. “This is some weird quirk and we are losing out on something, but we can look for the benefits in this and look to where we can progress together as a community.”