Walking around the Rowan campus the day after Thanksgiving was like walking in a ghost town. Cars weren’t seen driving down the streets and only a few students were seen scattered about. However, Student Center & Campus Activities, as well as Rowan After Hours, set up a virtual canvas painting activity. Pickup of painting kits were available in the Chamberlain Student Center.

“The kits were put together by the Rowan After Hours team,” said Lauren Kuski, who is the associate director of programming and administrative operations at Rowan. “It’s little canvas paintings. We have all the supplies you need to do your own canvas painting.”

On a table, there were colorful bags clumped together. In each bag there was paint, three different sized brushes, a little canvas and a QR code that sent the person scanning it to a YouTube video. The video leads viewers through painting a gnome underneath a mushroom, narrated by Hannah Spronz, a DIY coordinator for Rowan After Hours. She talks to the viewer the whole time about what she’s doing, why she’s doing it and adds some tips throughout.

“I saw it on the email and we really like to paint together, my roommates and my friends…so I thought this would be a fun activity to do since we’re here this weekend,” said Ashley Ferriere, a junior law and justice and English major.

The only thing needed to pick up the art kit was either a student or faculty email. This way, coordinators can keep track of who is participating in these events.

“It gives you a way to socially distance, but also have fun,” said Lucinda Lau, a senior biomedical engineer major. “You don’t have to be in a room with a million people to paint or whatever. You can use YouTube, and Rowan’s giving you the supplies which is awesome. I enjoy painting. It’s very therapeutic.”

The YouTube video is going to stay online, so students can paint on their own time and at their own pace.

“I think the other thing is just for our students to know, [for] those that can’t go home or whatever their situation might be, that Rowan is here for them,” Kuski said. “Our department, Student Center & Campus Activities, is here for them and we’re going to continue to provide for them however makes the most sense.”

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