We will persevere

By The Collegian Staff

Our View:

We all wonder how it got to this point. When did it stop being a joke among memes and social media, to being something that impacted our whole lives?

Hutchinson Community College students, staff and faculty are facing something no one fathomed could happen. Our plans for the future have changed. The way we are being educated has changed. Our interactions between teachers and fellow classmates have significantly changed. Everything is different.

The coronavirus hit the world in one snap and created illness and panic for everyone. People saw it happening to others across the world and they felt for them. We wished it wasn’t happening to them, but it wasn’t our problem yet. When it finally emerged in the United States, situations started to feel more serious. It was different now that it was closer to home, but being in central Kansas, we didn’t fear it because it was only in populated areas. Then the first case was proven in Kansas, and things rolled downhill from there.

Sunday, March 15 knocked Hutchinson off its feet and into a dark spiral. HutchCC announced that night that there would be an early start to Spring Break and that classes after that would no longer be face-to-face. It was a shock to many students and pushed confusion onto everyone.

The question that faced us all was what happens now? How do we continue on with no set plan anymore? For graduating students, especially those who are involved in spring sports, emotions turned to pain as they realized the semester and season is basically over. Graduation is in the air right now as no one knows if it will be physically happening or not. Nothing is set in stone anymore. There is constant uncertainty.

We understand the reason behind the precautions. Things need to be done to keep the curve of the virus as low as possible. Closures are good for people’s health and mind. But that doesn’t mean we can’t be confused, angry and sad about the consequences that occur because of it.

In the big scheme of things, this is a small part of our lives that we have to stand back from, yet the present is still something that matters to us. Coronavirus screwed not only with our lives, but with our heads. Everyone is fearful of the unknown, and right now, that’s all we have.

We know the college and its teachers will work with students to the fullest extent. They will help us in any way they can and those who are graduating will still graduate. But there is no confirmation for anything that is supposed to happen in person. There are certain majors that require hands-on experience, like welding and engineering, that can’t just be taught online. There are classes that have labs attached to them, like science or the media programs that involve using film equipment.

Everyone is scrambling to find solutions to the obstacles that have been placed in front of us because of the coronavirus. It is valid to feel like we’ve been robbed of our lives. It’s OK to be angry. It’s OK to show emotions through tears. But after we’ve felt all of our feelings, and can bring ourselves onto level ground, we need to come together in this bizarre time.

Our entire lives won’t be defined by this moment in time. We will get through this. We will be OK. We will keep living.

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