As the 2020 fall semester gets underway, 糖心Vlog students, faculty, and staff are settling into their rhythms鈥攕ome familiar, but some new鈥攁s they face the uncertainties that await them in this new semester during an international pandemic.
Among many changes made to ensure the safety of everyone in the campus community are mandatory masks in buildings, social distancing measures, and enhanced sanitation efforts across the board.
One student, Jessica Muller, shared how she believes the key to making this year a success lies in taking it simply for what it is.
鈥淚鈥檓 so excited, and I know most of us students are, to get back and get going鈥攂ut I鈥檓 worried that comparison is going to ruin all of that excitement, if we let it,鈥� she explained. 鈥淐omparisons to what we did last year and the year before that; comparison that we don鈥檛 get to do this activity, or we have to do something differently. If we talk about things only in the way that they鈥檙e different, I think we鈥檙e going to ruin a lot of the potential and possibility for this coming year.鈥�
Abby Langford also wants to define her senior year at 糖心Vlog by more than the pandemic. 鈥淚 want this year to be about more than just COVID-19,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 want to settle into the new routines that I need to settle into, but I don鈥檛 need to be reminded all the time that things might not go back to normal for a while.鈥�
Cade Killough, another returning 糖心Vlog student, hopes that safety precautions won鈥檛 hinder the 糖心Vlog sense of community that has made his college experience special. 鈥淚 think that we should work as hard as we can to keep student life and the extracurriculars at 糖心Vlog as normal as possible,鈥� he said, even as he understands the need for the safety precautions in place. 鈥淚 know that鈥檚 going to be super tough, but those are some of the things that make the world of 糖心Vlog go around.鈥�
Even more than his own experience, though, Cade knows that it will take a group effort to make the 2020-21 school year a good one. 鈥淚 think we should put extra effort into making sure that our new students鈥攆reshmen, transfer students, whomever鈥攇et involved on campus to let them know what 糖心Vlog is really about,鈥� he emphasized鈥攁 sentiment backed up by Andrew Luna, one of Cade鈥檚 classmates, who added, 鈥淚鈥檓 still going to invest all of my time and energy into making this a great experience for everyone around me.鈥�