This, or Zoom University: What We Do Now Matters Tremendously
With the nation’s eyes bearing down on us, we’ve arrived on the banks of the Hudson River to participate in one enormous experiment: to test the feasibility of an in-person, collegiate education amid a global pandemic. The stakes have never been higher, and the voices of higher education nationwide have sent a clear message that this experience is ours to lose.
“Please don’t be a knucklehead who disregards the safety of others and puts our ability to remain on campus at risk,” President Dennis J. Murray wrote in an email to students. “Whether Marist is able to stay open is now in your hands.”
It would be easy to paint college students as monolithically privileged, selfish egoists, all too happy to sacrifice the infirm and immunocompromised for the sweet must of a fraternity’s basement party. Not one week into classes, Marist issued 15 suspensions before classes started, and days later quarantined the college’s largest freshman dormitory overnight.
“The editors of the Marist Circle formally call upon the college’s leaders to enhance testing protocols, and our fellow students to accept the challenge ahead with vigor and empathy. ”
But this narrow narrative does a true disservice to a massive body of young people eager for an education worth the lofty price tag and dedicated to a successful semester in-person. The more than 4500 students who arrived to campus at the summer’s end each carry their own genuine burdens. At best, we are mourning lost milestones, and at worst, we are grieving lost loved ones.
Nonetheless, we are asked to rise to the occasion and set forth an example. We are uniquely positioned to showcase the powers of cooperation, sacrifice and creativity, and carve a path forward for other colleges.
The editors of the Marist Circle formally call upon the college’s leaders to enhance testing protocols, and our fellow students to accept the challenge ahead with vigor and empathy.
To Our Fellow Students:
If you think the spring will be “back to normal” no matter what happens in the fall…
Think again. Historically, the fastest vaccine ever created, for mumps, took four years. Most experts estimate that a vaccine will not be widely accessible until mid-2021 –– and approximately 35% of Americans won’t take the vaccine at all. We could face identical circumstances in the spring semester, and if we cannot devise feasible ways to function alongside the virus, the losses will surmount beyond rectification.
If you posted in support of Black Lives Matter…
People of color are disproportionately impacted by the virus. The CDC attributes this difference to a number of factors, including healthcare access. Poughkeepsie itself boasts a diverse population of more than 50% people of color. Our actions on and around campus could catastrophically impact the community that Marist calls home. True allyship encompasses more than performative support on social media with no demonstrable follow-through.
If you figure that you might as well enjoy our (potentially) short time here to the fullest…
Imagine this: you’re an immunocompromised student, who has been living with a certain degree of fear for your entire life, but the pandemic induced your worst nightmare. You’ve spent the summer anxiously trying to figure out if returning to school is the right decision for your health and safety. You’ve spent hours on the phone with medical professionals and Marist representatives, and you decide to take the calculated risk to return to campus –– but you live every day in fear of infection.
Should the semester move online, students will return home to multigenerational families, parents over the age of 60 and family members who cannot afford to spend two weeks quarantining at home. The idea of a short, good time might be appealing to those who have nothing to lose, but it forsakes the many Marist community members with extraordinary stake in this semester’s success.
If you’re mourning the loss of the ‘normal’ college experience…
The lucky ones among us have been spared from grieving lost loved ones during this pandemic –– which has already claimed over 177,000 lives in the U.S. alone. But this is more than just a bump in the road for students –– this is our unceremonious foray into adulthood. Unfortunately, we don’t get to choose the lot we are handed, but we can choose how we respond.
To Our Marist Leaders:
Learn from successes and failures at other colleges –– and ramp up testing now.
We commend Marist College for instituting thoughtful, scientifically-supported guidelines to promote the welfare of every Marist community member and visitor. Like us, the college’s leaders encountered extraordinary challenges. Strict health policies and crackdowns on off-campus parties, among other precautions, have clearly communicated the administration’s vigilance.
That said, we are asking for more. The daily health screenings, while a well-intentioned supplement, only identify symptomatic (and honest) carriers. By the time an infected student begins to feel the onset, their roommates and more may be affected. Marist’s lack of a frequent testing plan presents a serious Achilles' heel (colleges like Northeastern University will test students every five days).
The Student Government Association administered a series of polls on Instagram, revealing that 82% of 350 respondents agreed that Marist should test students on a daily or regular basis; 60% said that they would pay for these low-cost tests on campus, Student Body President Roda Mohamed ‘21 said. In an email to students, Vice President for Student Affairs Deborah DiCaprio said that the college will soon launch a surveillance testing program. The strength of this proposed program is of the utmost importance.
Our leaders asked students to do everything in their power to keep the campus safe; we ask the same from the college’s highest offices. There’s a reason why so many of us jumped at the chance to return to campus in spite of the still-present dangers. Marist is a uniquely special place –– a new home to some, and a familiar friend to others.
And, here at the Circle, we want it to stay that way.
The imperativeness of these first days cannot be overstated: it’s this, or Zoom University for the rest of the semester. Embrace it, honor it and dig in.
–– The Marist Circle Editorial Board
