March 26, 2020
Did you change your spring break plans because of the virus? From what to what?
Hi all. I hope everyone is following the “shelter-in-place” order for Travis County and basking up plenty of sunlight through the window.
As a senior literature student juggling a research project, a chapbook, and the mind-boggling concepts of postmodern literature, my plans for spring break did not significantly change. I was hoping to use the break to catch up on some work to give me more breathing room for the rest of the semester. Now that classes have indefinitely shifted to an online platform, I’m definitely getting that breathing room I was seeking.
How did you feel when you were informed the remainder of the semester would be held online?
The week before Spring Break, I really doubted that the university would transition to online classes. The talk of coronavirus was minimal; I heard it casually in passing conversations. On Wednesday, March 11th, a professor suggested the high possibility of our class going online possibly for the rest of the semester. I shrugged it off; it seemed high-flown for the campus to shut down over a virus no one was seriously talking about. That Friday, I received the university’s announcement about the temporary shift of classes to an online platform, as well as the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Austin. Just days after, my perception of the virus completely changed. The panic of corona began to settle in. Trump declared a National Emergency and friends from the Rio Grande Valley rescheduled their visit to Austin. I deterred others from trying to visit during my extended break. HEB shoppers were tense and half the store was empty. I myself began plans for quarantine and hoped an announcement would come soon from the university about an indefinite shutdown. And it sure didn’t take long.
This is my last semester at St. Edward’s. Although I am sad I won’t be able to attend graduation or say my verbal goodbyes to a wonderful department of professors and great classmates, I think the transition to online classes is a small sacrifice for the protection of vulnerable individuals in our community and across the globe.
What has been your experience with moving classes online? What’s good? What’s not so good?
Although classes haven’t officially started yet due to the extension of our Spring Break, I think I will adjust well to an online platform. I’m trying to stay optimistic. I think the flexibility in my schedule will help me to complete my larger assignments at a more enjoyable pace while still giving me time to incorporate more activities for myself like doing yoga, reading for pleasure, and cooking healthy meals. I will be bummed that I’ll no longer be able to participate in the collective existential crises my classmates and I share during our discussions in Modern and Postmodern literature, but I’m sure I can find other ways to scare myself outside of the unsettling games Nabokov and Borges play with language.
The best thing to probably come out of this for me will be the diligence I learn from working at home. I have what seems like a copious amount of time, and I hope to use it to invest myself in my studies and to fill it with art. As Professor West encouraged in an email, I’m hoping to use this extra time to “build toward the self [I] want to be in graduate studies.”
How worried are you about getting the virus?
Honestly, I think I have the virus. I don’t have any noticeable symptoms, but COVID-19 can incubate for 2-14 days. That said, I am a healthy individual and I am doing my best to minimize physical contact with others. I am also a hypochondriac.
Are you staying in? What are you doing to pass the time?
I’m staying in‚ have to at this point with the “shelter in place” order. But each morning I go on a walk for Vitamin D and the preservation of my sanity. I try to limit my visits to HEB, but when I do go, people are very tense and there’s not much shelved. Aside from the restrictions on mobility, I’ve been doing well. I pass (and enjoy) the time cooking, reading, obsessively cleaning and calling up friends. I haven’t gotten bored yet and I encourage everyone to find something that they love, but don’t have time for, and just do that.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about what you’re feeling or experiencing right now?
It’s really unfortunate that many people are not taking this as seriously as they should, and that we as a nation lack a coherent political voice. At this moment in history, it’s difficult having a president who doesn’t believe in science. Also like, yeah Trump, the state of our economy is important, but we shouldn’t have to climb on top of dead bodies to reach a higher GDP.
