Two months have passed since the university made the unforeseen decision to suspend on-campus activities and classes, leaving student organizations having meetings to transition into online settings. For the Organization of Cornell Planners (OCP), the new normal meant hosting the annual Town Hall meeting virtually, a first for the department.
Town Hall serves as a forum for students, faculty, and staff of the City and Regional Planning department to discuss current issues and opportunities to improve student experiences, professional development, and core curriculum. This meeting follows OCP’s Call to Action, the student-only meeting where concerns or ideas are compiled by board members to create the itinerary for the Town Hall.
Although some perks of an in-person meeting were compromised, the OCP board found aspects of hosting the Town Hall virtually beneficial for facilitating their itinerary and collecting insight from all participants. Brian Toy (M.R.P. ’21), who serves as OCP’s vice president and moderator for the event, shared, “One benefit of the virtual Town Hall is that all breakout rooms and the main session were recorded. We will be compiling the recordings and sharing them with [the department chair].”
For Kevin Kim (M.R.P./M.L.A. ’21), his third time participating in the Town Hall left him reflecting on the department’s progress from previous years. “My first year, I think many of us had these ambitious goals that, as a two-year program, didn’t become a reality for my entering cohort, but are now beginning to be introduced for current students,” he said. “These department forums are important because they aren’t for the students addressing the challenges, but are more for our future colleagues entering the programs.”
This year’s Town Hall also served as a forum to discuss the challenges COVID-19 will have on professional development and job prospects for students. Scott Scheible, who serves as associate director of AAP Connect, shared his office’s resources to ensure students are aware of the programming and networking opportunities they may leverage during this critical time. “A student’s ability to proactively communicate with alums in both the CRP and broader Cornell networks is very important,” he said.
Department Chair Jeffrey Chusid found the online format of the event to be surprisingly effective. “The combination of the intimacy of Zoom and the seriousness of our current situation with COVID-19 seemed to sharpen the focus of the various discussions, and also helped to prioritize the issues. But the fundamental value of the Town Hall to the ongoing growth and development of the department remained intact.”