Is there a particular place on campus that you miss and would like to visit remotely – especially in the company of a friendly, four-year-old, tail-wagging yellow Labrador?

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Student Affairs

Informational video featuring Vice Provost for Student Affairs Susie Brubaker-Cole speaking to students during week two of Spring Quarter 2019-2020.

Vice Provost for Student Affairs Susie Brubaker-Cole invites you to send those suggestions to her so that she can visit that place with her infectiously energetic dog, Riva. Students are also encouraged to suggest topics for her to discuss or questions for her to answer.

To reconnect students to the campus they can no longer wander, Brubaker-Cole has been recording her daily walks with Riva, visiting the sites most requested by undergraduates. Those video clips are being shared with students along with Brubaker-Cole’s regular administrative updates.

On her most recent walk, which was chronicled by her daughter Eleanor – a Gunn High School student turned videographer – Brubaker-Cole and Riva circled Lake Lagunita, stopping at a beloved bench, Ujamaa residence hall, the fire pit and the Elliott Center.

The idea to record her walks was born from Brubaker-Cole’s understanding of how important the physical campus is to the student experience. Pets, she reasoned, are soothing companions who can help people temporarily leave behind worries, even the considerable ones created by a worldwide pandemic. Combine the two and you have a method of communication far more intimate than any memo could aspire to be.

“I wanted to break out of the administrative mode we’ve been in that’s all about communication intended to convey information,” said Brubaker-Cole. “I wanted to do something that was more about eliciting feelings and sharing a connection to campus places.

The walks have been helpful to Brubaker-Cole, as well. She and her family live on campus and experience it as “still, empty, yet beautiful.” The chance to talk to students gives meaning to her daily walks with Riva. The walks are far quieter than those before COVID-19, with less vehicular traffic and fewer aircrafts overhead resulting in more time to enjoy, for instance, the chirping of birds.