March 11, 2021 marked the one-year anniversary of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring COVID-19 as a global pandemic.
After a year of wearing masks everywhere we go, social distancing from our friends and family and unfortunately watching the positive COVID case numbers increase, it still does not feel as if things will ever go back to the “normal” we remember.
As a result of the many precautions we have to take because of the virus, it was inevitable that our lives would be altered.
Winthrop students were shocked last March when they went home for spring break and did not get to return to campus until May, only to retrieve
their belongings from their residence halls. Students had to finish their semester completely online. Seniors in both May and December were unable to attend their commencement ceremonies due to the uncertainty and lack
of information about the virus.
Corrine Whipple, a senior computer science major, said, “For the last year and a half, I’ve been attending classes remotely from home, which is three hours away from campus, and it’s been a big obstacle since I am the best student I can be while in person.”
After students were finally able to return back to campus in the fall of 2020, they were met with a different college experience than what they have been used to. Masks are required everywhere on campus and students cannot hangout with friends that live in opposing residence halls unless they are somewhere else on campus.
Athletics and the Arts have looked different as well during this school year as their designated departments work to create a safe environment for students and spectators. Fans were not allowed to attend fall sports this school year, but spring sports are now open at limited capacity for fans.
Unfortunately, this is not the case for theater and dance performances. These performances are being recorded and are available to watch via Zoom.
Tyler Baker, a senior double major in sociology and psychology, and a member of the Winthrop baseball team, shared his experience with COVID and how it has affected his team.
“Earlier in the season I was one of the few players that didn’t have to sit out because of contract tracing,” Baker said. “It was weird going from 40 guys to 15 in a week. I, along with the baseball team, get tested for COVID 3 days each week. Even though I haven’t tested positive, which is great, it has been weird not being able to spend time with my teammates as much.”
Due to contract tracing and positive COVID cases with other teams, the team had to sit out several games. The most recent game that has been postponed due to COVID related issues was the March 5th and 6th games against High Point University.
As we surpass the one-year mark of living in a global pandemic, it is clear that we have learned a lot about ourselves, and will most likely continue to learn how to live more comfortably as new information about the virus becomes available.
“I can say that through this journey I am grateful that I was actually able to learn a whole lot about myself,” Jaleel
Hammonds, a senior educational studies major shared. “I couldn’t hang out with family or friends like I was used to so I spent a lot of time reflecting.”
Photo by Emma Crouch
