Red River College Students’ Association events return in-person
by: Nathan Richison
This story was originally published on Sept. 26, 2022. Due to a technical malfunction on Sept. 27, 2022, this story was erased from The Projector website. Edits on this version may differ from original edits made.
Students line the hallways of Red River College Polytechnic’s Notre Dame Campus to grab a cold drink. On Sept. 7, 2022, Red River College Polytechnic Students’ Association celebrated the return to in-person classes by hosting a beer garden event.
“We got to know that students enjoy our events, and it is a good way to contact and meet students,” Manpreet Kaur, RRCSA president, said.
A student herself, Kaur said being in person is a much-needed change. “[Last] September it was all online, like sitting at home looking at the screen and feeling sleepy,” she said.
Attending the event was Brentten Martens, a steamfitting student at RRC Polytech. “Online schooling with COVID really sucked. A lot of people struggled with it. It feels better to be in person,” Martens said.
As most students have returned to campus, the RRCSA followed suit, planning a full list of events for the semester ahead. The RRCSA has been hosting these events, including beer gardens, since June of 1974.
Beer gardens are scheduled to happen every month of the semester at The Cave Lounge at Notre Dame Campus.
Natalie Gratton, an Industrial Arts student who attended the beer gardens, said she was relieved to be on campus. “It needs to be in person, especially with industrial arts,” Gratton said.
Five minutes after noon, most seats were occupied, as 130 students attended the event. Jemma Ignacio, the RRCSA student life director, said it was a noticeably lower turnout than most pre-pandemic beer gardens.
Ignacio said this is partially because most students on campus have either only been online or are completely new to the college. “It doesn’t take away from how good it feels to be back in person,” Ignacio said.
Alex Talgoy heard about the event from posters around campus. He said the event was enjoyable, and he would probably go to more if they interested him. “So, even if it was like after school hours, I might still go,” Talgoy said.
The RRCSA is looking to fit more events into its calendar. They are open to recommendations if they have space in the schedule, Kaur said.
A schedule of RRCSA’s events can be found on their website.
