We all know that this year is different from any other year. SGA have been doing their best at trying to make this year as normal as it possibly can be.

The Freshman Open House is usually a time for 8th graders to come into East and take a tour. It’s an exciting time for future freshmen because they get the “feel” of high school. With Coronavirus this year, the circumstances are different, but SGA still wanted the future freshmen to get the “feel” of East.

That’s why, on January 21, SGA held the Freshman Open House, but different! The virtual Freshman Open House was a huge success. Devyn Levin (‘22), one of the school-wide Vice Presidents, talked about the advantages and disadvantages of the Freshman Open House being virtual. Levin’s role was to talk to incoming Freshman and tell them why East is the best place for them. She said, “It was a really good experience for both the Freshman and SGA. But, it was hard for SGA to communicate through text and Zoom. Also, during the Zoom meeting, it was hard for SGA to communicate with the Freshman. We used the Chat, and the raised hand feature.” Overall, Levin thinks that it was a successful Freshman Open House.

Another school wide Vice President, Max Gaffin (‘22), has a similar outtake of how the Open House went. Gaffin’s role was to describe his East experience, and explain everything he has participated in. He said, “Although the actual experience for the incoming Freshman is different then years past, SGA tried to make it feel as normal as possible. We showcased different parts of the school, classrooms, and more. It was successful.” Gaffin also said that the same number of people as years past attended, however there were students who departed before the Zoom meeting ended.

Levin also mentioned that it was hard to talk to a screen instead of a room of people. She said, “Usually, we take groups into different rooms and we show them around. This year, it was very hard to talk to a bunch of people on a screen.” Although it was difficult to talk to the incoming Freshman on the screen, it was the safest opinion for everyone.”

Overall the Virtual Freshman Open House was a great and safe way for the incoming Freshman to get a feel for East. Although they didn’t get to physically walk through the halls of East, they got to see and experience it virtually.