Story by Kaelyn Wondell Photo by Heidi Kirk, November 20, 2020

The horrifying idea of a pandemic isn’t something I ever thought I’d be worrying about ever, let alone in 2020.

Starting in early March, there were rumors going around campus of whether we’d be sent home or not. It was a strange two weeks, where it seemed like every day there was news about the school’s contingency plan. All the rumors and rumblings around campus ended when Chancellor Joe Steinmetz sent an email to students, stating that in-person classes would be moved remote for the rest of the semester. This email marked the beginning of what would be an odd mixture of online classes, stay-at-home orders and a summer full of activism.

“Your health is our top priority…[w]ith this in mind, we are suspending in-person classes effective immediately and will move to an all-online or other alternative method of course delivery starting Monday, March 16th and continuing through the remainder of the semester,” Steinmetz said in the email.

As a freshman, I had to pack up my whole dorm room on a day’s notice and evacuate the next. Getting sent home a little over a week from spring break seemed like a wonderful treat from the University, but that was short lived. I wasn’t able to say goodbye to the professors who helped me throughout my first year of college or any of the friends I made during my time on campus, some of which I had become extremely close with. It’s as if those friends were stripped away from me within a moment, which was extremely upsetting. There were times where I was doing school online that it felt like the year was never going to end. Having to watch 70-minute lectures while sitting in my basement was dreadful because it was easy to get distracted. Taking finals online was certainly the hardest part of school, as it was the culmination of a month and a half of watching videos online. I was being tested on information I had barely retained, and needless to say it was rough.

On March 23, St. Louis, my hometown, enacted a stay-at-home order which was very odd to say the least. Not being able to see any of  my friends or my extended family during this time was difficult. Since I was stuck at home day-in and day-out, I had a lot of time to reflect on what was going on around me, which taught me a lot.

One of the biggest lessons is to cherish  time spent with people, because that can all go away in the matter of seconds. It is selfish of me to even say that it was upsetting to not see my friends or family for a few months, when I was watching Covid-19 take away the lives of many.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are 230,383 people in the United States who have died due to Covid-19. I can’t even begin to imagine what it’s like for those families to grieve over the loss of loved ones.

It’s horrible to think about, but this pandemic sprung up seemingly out of nowhere, and within a mere month it had already taken its toll. Tell the people you love how much they mean to you, because you never know when it’ll be the last time you see them.

According to Pew Research Center, a little under half of small businesses surveyed have had to stop operating for a short period of time.

“Even in normal times, only about half of business establishments are estimated to survive five years or more. A recent survey of small businesses found that 43 percent are temporarily closed due to the effects of the Covid-19 outbreak. What might matter most is the duration of the economic slide and whether it resembles the aftershock of a natural disaster or a deep cyclical downturn,” according to Pew.

For local businesses, the outcries of support, in order to show appreciation and overall awareness, have been tremendously loud, and it has paved a way for communities to come together to help them. Because of lock downs, many businesses were unable to support themselves. Several places in my hometown, as well as in cities across the United States, had to shut down.

The government enacted many contingency plans for small businesses that were struggling during this time, one of which was the Covid-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans, which attempted to help businesses maintain normalcy in terms of income.

The government attempted to help these small businesses but many of these attempts fell short, leaving businesses to pick up the scraps or shut down. The very idea of having a family owned restaurant, flower shop, or grocery store, for instance, almost seems like a luxury in the modern world of franchised and corporate owned companies. But during the pandemic it must have been a burden for a lot of business owners.

A family friend of mine is the manager of a local bakery a few blocks away from my house, and I know his business definitely lost customers due to the pandemic. Some lucky businesses were allowed to resume relatively normal operations through curbside pickup and delivery options. This developed into the lifeline which has continued to keep small businesses afloat.

A positive that came about during this season for me was the amount of free time to enjoy. For a moment, it seemed like the world was slowing down; I was able to de-stress after school and appreciate the peace and quiet of it all, which definitely helped me. The ability for me to sit back and relax during this pandemic was certainly a luxury.

While some people were able to relax in their free time, others used it to fight for racial, social, and systemic justice.

On May 25th, George Floyd was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This sparked hundreds of protests across the nation that lasted for months.

There have been social media movement eruptions because of this horrible event, such as Blackout Tuesday, and even here on campus, with the hashtag “#blackatuark”.

Through and through, I think this pandemic has brought people together as a community, despite pushing people apart physically. Many people, and businesses, have been lost in the past few months but that doesn’t mean that this won’t get better. It’s important to pay respect to those who have been lost, and their families, due to Covid-19. One thing I always try to remember is that there is still hope out there for a better tomorrow.