Coronavirus Closes College
The world has radically changed since the start of 2020. The deadly and highly contagious Coronavirus has undoubtedly changed our lives. More specifically, it has changed college students' lives. College is supposed to be the best four years of our lives, living on our own, away from home, with our friends. We get to enjoy all that life has to offer while we are young. But the Coronavirus has taken that precious time away from us and changed the way we communicate.
As the virus moved into the United States in early March, some universities and colleges started to extend spring break, and move classes online. It started out as a proactive response to the virus to make sure that students did not come back from spring break and flood the campus, making it easy for the virus to spread. Many schools still had a date for students to come back to college, but that changed very quickly. Within almost 2 weeks, schools were shutting down for the semester and making all students evacuate campuses. Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology were some of the first schools to cancel face-to-face classes for the rest of the semester. The Coronavirus has effected not just on-campus students, but students that were studying abroad or fulfilling internships that unfortunately had to be cut short. Even though these are the appropriate measures to be taken, college students deserve the time to grieve the loss of school.
The Coronavirus has had devastating effects on us college students. We didn't know that when we left campus for spring break, it was the last time we would see our friends or dorms. The last person you said goodbye to or hugged, was the last person you would see for the rest of the semester. It is also hard to think about all the memories we won't be creating. For High Point University students, spring semester is always something to look forward to. The weather starts to warm up and everything seems to become more fun and exciting. We should be celebrating Greek Life events, Honor's Day, Spring Sports, and all of the hard work that we have put into the school year. Seniors should be celebrating the last four years of their lives and looking forward to Graduation, the day everyone has been waiting for. Sadly, we will not be able to make those memories this year.
On the brighter side, schools like High Point University have been so considerate and helpful to students. From offering countless services to a special offer on a Master's degree, High Point knows that we are going through a difficult time and is doing everything they can to help us. High Point University has given all students access to counseling services, the Office of Career and Professional Development, the Office of Student Success among many more resources.The professors are also going above and beyond to make this online education experience the best it can be through Zoom and Blackboard. This pandemic has changed the way we communicate with each other. There is no better time to have the technology we have today and we must use it to benefit our lives. Students have so many ways to connect with their universities, professors, classmates, and far away friends. We have to be grateful that we are prepared enough that we can continue our education online, something that not everyone has access to. I know that as a sophomore I will have more college experience to gain, but some people do not. The class of 2020 will be affected by the Coronavirus for the rest of their lives and that is something we should be considerate of. Overall, this virus has had irreparable consequences and taken away part of our lives we will never get back, but we have to stay positive and healthy so that we can get back to normal and enjoy the times to come.
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