About 45 Wellness Ambassadors kicked off the semester by engaging their peers with friendly reminders to adhere to the 3Ws (Wear, Wait, Wash) and rewarding those they saw following the safety measures with coupons. In the first few weeks of the semester, the ambassadors gave away about 800 $5 Campus Dining meals cards, as well as several hundred coupons for the University Bookstore and Grubhub, an online food-ordering application used by Campus Dining.

The Wellness Ambassadors are continuing their work through the end of the fall and into spring semester.

“In regard to student behavior, we definitely have seen a positive reaction from the student body. Students continue to wear their face coverings even when they are outside,” said Tamara Nazareth, a junior special education major from Mumbai, India, who is serving as student director of the initiative.

The presence of the ambassadors has encouraged others to put on their face coverings or to ask for new ones if they left theirs at home or got theirs dirty, she said.

The Wellness Ambassadors include leaders from a number of student organizations and campus operations, such as the SGA, University Housing, Plemmons Student Union and Trailhead Experience — a one-day extended orientation program.

Ahead of the fall semester, students in Appalachian’s Psychology Club and chapter of Psi Chi, the national honor society in psychology sponsored by the American Psychological Association, developed a strategy to motivate students to adhere to infection control behaviors. In the App State vs. COVID campaign, students observe and anonymously report behaviors using a model of “no name, no blame, no shame.”

The student group identified five infection control behaviors to observe — including social distancing, wearing a face covering and washing hands — and developed a corresponding series of hand gestures to reinforce these behaviors. The campaign encourages App State students to download a mobile app called Habitood and use it to report positive and negative observations of these behaviors. More than 200 people are using the app, and the group’s goal is to gain 5,000 participants. The co-owner of Habitood, alumnus Tim Miller ’13, is allowing App State to use the software free of charge.

Dr. Timothy Ludwig, a professor in the university’s Dr. Wiley F. Smith Department of Psychology, said when students actively observe other people’s behaviors, they are more likely to consider their own.

Each week, students in Ludwig’s Behavioral Safety Lab assess the collected data to see which infection control behaviors are increasing and which areas pose risk.

Ava Young, a senior psychology major from Pooler, Georgia, who is helping promote the campaign, said, “I believe everyone works better to achieve something when we have visuals of our progress and a viable goal to reach. This project gives both of those outcomes and I think it will help us to beat COVID together, as a community.”

The App State vs. COVID website offers a video, instructions for downloading and using Habitood and weekly data summaries. Ludwig said the data has been predictable so far, with the first week showing widespread adoption of infection control behaviors, the second week showing slight declines in social distancing and the following weeks showing continued improvement across most behaviors but “drift” in some areas.

Appalachian’s Student Government Association (SGA) is promoting adherence to guidelines related to COVID-19 by modeling appropriate behaviors and through public service announcements (PSAs) and social media campaigns.

SGA President Michael Davis, a senior political science major from Wilkesboro, and SGA Vice President Cameron Hunter, a senior cellular/molecular biology major from Winston-Salem, posted videos to the SGA Facebook and Instagram pages early in the semester acknowledging positive behaviors on campus, including the use of face coverings and social distancing, and encouraging all students to take an active role in keeping campus and the local community safe.

View Michael Davis’ video.

View Cameron Hunter’s video.

The group is also using its social media channels to share graphics that remind its followers of safety precautions and of the weekly COVID-19 pop-up testing events.

In addition, SGA’s #APPreciatethemask campaign on Instagram showcases the various ways the pandemic impacts the campus community and how wearing face coverings on and around campus supports student safety and wellness. Students can view the messages by following SGA on Instagram (@appstatesga) and can sign up to participate.

Davis, a student in App State’s Honors College, said SGA members strive to be role models for appropriate COVID-19 behaviors, and have adjusted office and meeting policies to adhere to all COVID-19 guidelines so they can “set a good example of what ‘normal’ can look like during COVID-19.”

Davis encouraged students to visit the SGA website to contact members of the SGA administration.

“We want to make this the most fun and meaningful semester possible given the circumstances,” Davis said.

Student radio station 90.5 WASU-FM has been airing COVID-19-related public service announcements (PSAs) approximately every 20 minutes since early summer, each one from a different voice but with continuity of messaging related to preventing transmission of the coronavirus.

While the station typically only airs student voices, the pandemic has been an exception. The PSAs have been a mix of voice-overs by students, state health and emergency management officials, Chancellor Sheri Everts and leaders of the National Association of Broadcasters — a combination WASU general manager Dan “Vallie” Hill described as “most effective.”

“The number one goal has been to get the word out and for people to keep caution top of mind,” said Hill, who also directs the Kellar Radio Talent Institute and is practitioner-in-residence in the Department of Communication.

He continued, “Scott Spickard, the student station manager, and student staff have been outstanding, both over the summer and now during this fall semester in how they have responded responsibly and taken action to accomplish all that needs to be done remotely.”

Leading WASU during COVID-19 “has been challenging but rewarding,” said Spickard, who is a senior from Raleigh majoring in communication/electronic media broadcasting.

“We’re having to do all of our jobs remotely and adding communication to ensure we all stay on top of our work. Although it’s been challenging, I’ve been encouraged by the hard work of all our staff and DJs. We’ve produced a lot of topical content on air and online while staying safe,” Spickard said.