LIBERAL, Kan. – The first week of classes at Seward County Community College has wrapped up and it seemed like any other fall semester except that the country is still in the middle of a pandemic.

But despite the safety protocols in effect, which include mask requirements indoor and class-size limitations, Luke Dowell, SCCC vice president of academic affairs, was pleased with how things went the opening week.

“I think it went really well,” Dowell said. “There are always some bumps, but I haven’t heard of any major problems. It’s always great to have students on campus. It was a really good week.”

Dowell added that things went smoother because the college had gone through the situation with safety protocols and remote learning the last year and a half.

“I think anytime that you go through something, you learn from it,” he said. “There’s a lot of things we’re prepared for. We did learn about the type of things we need to communicate and worry about.”

Another issue that caused some shuffling was an influx in students, particularly during the first week.

“We had a lot of students come in the first week,” Dowell said. “It’s a good problem to have,” Dowell said. “We’ve had to move to bigger classrooms and in some classes, we’ve had to open more sessions to accommodate students.”

The safety protocols will be reassessed after September and could be loosened if COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations decrease.

To welcome new and returning students, SCCC Student Life held a week-long series of events and activities on campus, including spray can art on Monday, carnival on Tuesday, creating vision boards on Wednesday, brown bag bingo on Thursday and prize giveaways at the Saints Bookstore on Friday.

Saints athletics were in full swing with the volleyball team kicking off its season this past weekend with a tournament in New Mexico. The Lady Saints will hold their Jayhawk conference and home opener at 6:30 pm on Wednesday in the Greenhouse.

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