Student Spotlight: Seerat, Scripps and Covid19

A year ago, when I viewed my acceptances to decide on a college, I weighed in a number of factors including location, class size, diversity-college disruption due to a pandemic was definitely not in the list. With the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus, I faced a situation which I could never have foreseen in any way possible.

The advent of the virus into United States was being closely watched-as the state of Massachussets fell prey, colleges on the East Coast declared an extension of the Spring break, truncation of the semester, and finally declaring a shift to online classes. The West coast was still under a state of uncertainty and contemplation. However, on the 12th of March–a decision was taken and we got ‘the’ email. We were going online for the rest of the semester and the term was over.

I remember vividly that I was sitting in my accounting class testing the zoom software for the possibility of going online due to the inflow of Covid-19 into US. This is precisely when I received the email regarding the coronavirus announcement. I remember trying to read the email on my apple watch just because I could not explicitly log off my zoom class session. The moments following that were some of the strangest ones in my college life thus far. I remember being baffled by the email due to its ambiguous language. Like every other Wednesday I was supposed to meet a bunch of friends at Pomona’s dining hall for lunch. However, the scene at the dining hall is something that will never fade from my memory. People’s expressions were that of bewilderment, some were already in tears while others were discussing the possible return home immediately.

I was clearly shaken up by the news, no matter how much I had anticipated what the email would contain, there was nothing that could have prepared me for this. Another struggle of being an international student is the struggle of different time zones. In this moment of sheer panic and uncertainty, the very people I seek advice from were asleep halfway across the world oblivious to what had happened. In the midst of all this panic and uncertainty, I had to take my economics midterm right after. Most of my international friends at Scripps were in a similar state. I remember being unable to concentrate, but much to my relief, my professors took the time to pause class and discuss what was clearly bothering everybody present in the room. What is more, they gave everyone the liberty to leave class early. Some of us already had flights to catch in a few hours, while others had to cancel spring break plans and yet even harder for some was to decide whether to stay or go home. The announcement was most heartbreaking for the seniors –their last semester had abruptly come to a halt. The graduation ceremony marks a milestone in any college student’s life and this year, there was a ring of uncertainty for the seniors.  

After sharing the news with my parents, I had a tough decision to make. My options involved petitioning to stay on an empty campus with strict self-quarantine measures or going home. The other issue that was bothering international students like me was status of the F1 Visa. I scrambled to pack, book flights, do paperwork and say my goodbyes in 48 hours. We stood witness to how the shelves of supermarkets and mega stores like Target and CVS were wiped clean of cleaning supplies like Clorox wipes, sanitizers and Vitamin C.

We had no idea regarding how long this would last. The truth is we still don’t know how long it would take before we see each other again. My heart is broken at the opportunities and memories that I have been robbed of. I cannot redeem the fact that I had to cut short my goodbye to a senior who had welcomed me into Claremont with open arms and that she did not get to have the graduation ceremony that she deserved because of this catastrophe. I had two days to take down all the pictures on my wall, throw my clothes into a suitcase and wrap up my freshman year college experiences into neatly labelled and stacked cardboard boxes.

However, that being said I do feel fortunate enough to have had the resources to be able to fly back home on such short notice. There were many for whom the college campus is the only safe haven. I must commend on how the college authorities geared up to the challenges. The support offered by the college in terms of answering grievances, providing with packaging materials and paying for the storage of stuff. They even offered shuttles to the airport and reimbursement of the room & board fee for the remainder of the semester. Limited residential facilities were available for those unable to go home.

Back home, I am in a self-imposed quarantine watching the scenes unfold. My college will resume in a couple of weeks and I know its going to take a bit to adjust –online format that too in different time zones.

As California goes under lockdown and India prepares to tackle the virus on a war footing-I take solace in the thought, “If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind”?