Members of Best Buddies celebrated the start to the school year with a Picnic last semester. According to Dunham, while members have to be more cautious about COVID-19 when planning events, the club still plans to host many fun events.

According to Tony Dunham, Best Buddies club sponsor, Best Buddies club officers have decided to cancel January events due to a spike in COVID-19 cases.

However, because events were totally virtual last year, Dunham said members and officers were well prepared for this challenge. “We’re going back to our playbook from last year when we were hybrid,” Dunham said. “We had to get creative last year with some of that, so I think we’re going to pull out some of the (plans) we did last year.”

Until the Omicron cases decrease, Dunham encourages buddies to meet one-on-one or virtually for the safety of all members.

Despite canceling January events, officers are still planning for future events according to Mary Schuh, Best Buddies president and senior. Schuh said officers are coordinating a dance and also a “girls and boys’ night” for members to bond.

Schuh also said officers are brainstorming other events, including a possible Best Buddies talent show.

“We (did) have a lot of fun virtual events last year. We had a talent show that I feel would be fun to do in person this year. It was fun to see everyone’s videos last year, but I also think it would be fun to see everyone (perform) in person,” Schuh said. By Riley Laferriere