An Interview with Travis Evans: A Look into Virtual Events this Fall
Written by Asia Outten
Photo by SMUSA
Travis Evens, SMUSA’s Director of Events
On June 1st, 2020, the SMU Journal published an article about the new SMUSA Team and their goals for the upcoming school year. I met with the entire SMUSA team and they each shared with The Journal a brief overview of their plans for the upcoming year. Among the SMUSA members, we interviewed Travis Evans, Director of Events. In the previous article, Travis spoke about offering safe and engaging academic and recreational events for students. He also spoke about providing students with more opportunities to interact with the broader Nova Scotian Community.
“We would like to focus on Nova Scotian communities that are in need of assistance. As you can see from our current work within the communities, we are willing to assist anyone no matter their location,” said Travis as he spoke about SMUSA’s efforts in delivering food hampers in the surrounding areas in Halifax Regional Municipality. He is also looking to implement and highlight more diverse cultural events that would allow students to learn about and appreciate different cultures. Following this interview, we decided to take a more detailed look into Travis’ plans for this term. I conducted a follow-up interview this month.
Travis says he has a number of virtual events in store for the upcoming school year. These events will range from traditional Welcome Week events to “more innovative ones that will allow us to take advantage of the current circumstances of online learning.” He mentioned that he and the rest of the SMUSA team intend to release more details about these upcoming events over the course of the weeks leading to the Fall semester. To keep on track with events this semester, feel free to visit the SMUSA events page. With that being said, I can’t help but speculate a bit about what an online Welcome Week might look like. What the alternatives would be? Might it use a lot of Zoom Video calls or other group video calling platforms? Or is there an alternative in-store?
Fortunately, Travis says that none of the events that he had originally planned for this year have been cancelled. Travis merits this luck to the adaptive approach that SMUSA has taken to planning events. By adaptive, we mean that the team has been tailoring events and making them as inclusive and accessible as possible. They’ve arranged it so students in many time-zones will be able to participate. It is great that they are doing this and this adaptation signifies a crucial turning point in university event culture and accessibility. It is a good idea to maximize the number of people who will be able to attend by making it convenient.
Clearly, the team is adapting well to the switch to online operations and are working together to move forward with all of the online work they will have to do. The SMUSA team also says they have instilled contingency plans in the planning of events to prevent cancellations due to the possibility of unforeseen circumstances. Instances of unforeseen circumstances can be pesky problems with technology or mistakes in working out time zone differences. As it stands, the SMUSA team handles every event separately and will adapt to circumstances when the time comes.
Photo by Alexandra_Koch on Pixabay
When asked how he plans to adapt to virtual happenings, Travis stated “I believe the key to adapting to a virtual environment is finding a balance to maintain the sense of community normally found on our campus and being able to actively keep up with innovations within the virtual space.” To maintain this sense of community, he says he plans to offer events on platforms that are physically and financially accessible to the student body. Travis also mentioned that SMUSA is currently working closely with other members of the university, like faculty and staff. Together, SMUSA along with the university faculty and staff hope to plan meaningful events that will not overwhelm students with time and financial restraints.
Travis said that as it stands, his plans have not changed since our last article. “I still intend on offering events such as an ongoing Speaker Series that will allow us to explore the complexities surrounding current global and political issues such as anti-black racism, xenophobia, LGBTQ+ rights, and more.” As part of the Speaker Series, SMUSA is actively looking for and working with local organizations to help vulnerable people and those in need, as seen in their Instagram post on July 14th. He also requests feedback from students on how SMU can best become more involved in “[the] disenfranchised communities within the city” through SMUSA events.
Travis Evans has been putting in the work to cater to students by adapting to and planning virtual events while trying his best to prevent cancellation. In addition, he is encouraging a connection between students and the broader Nova Scotian community, and creating an appreciation for different cultures by basing some of the events on current global and political issues.The staff at The Journal are excited to keep following the events here at SMU. To find out more, you can contact Travis Evans via email atevents.smusa@smu.ca