Prompt 5
Gracie Geist
Sophomore
I believe that Drake made the right decision with all the rules and regulations that have been put in place. While I do believe there is ways to improve everything, I think they have done a pretty good job of creating restrictions for students. I have been taking COVID pretty seriously: wearing my mask, social distancing, keeping my contact with those around me minimal. For rowing practice, I am required to report any symptoms and have my temperature taken every day.
I think the changes have gone pretty smoothly. I am disappointed in the amount of people who refuse to wear masks, or how some people are handing these changes. I think the changes in the dining hall aren’t working very well. There are a few things I could see how to change them, including hours. I would say the disinfecting in Hubbell helps a lot, but even that could be improved.
I wouldn’t have done anything differently in the light of COVID. I have handled the pandemic pretty well and done all the right things. I believe that I would have encouraged others around me to be safer, but besides that, I personally have done a good job.
Next semester, I believe we will be in the same place. From what I have heard, we shouldn’t expect a vaccine until the summer. After the election, I believe whomever is president will have a great effect on the pandemic. Both candidates tend to approach science and vaccines differently, so I think it depends entirely on that to when we will have a vaccine or minimize COVID restrictions. Personally, I don’t think Trump has taken the pandemic very seriously; he hasn’t had a plan. Biden tends to believe more in science, and if he is elected, I believe COVID is the first thing on his agenda. It all depends on the election, in my opinion.
Everett Mullican
Senior
I feel my decisions have been fine this semester, it really depends on what decisions we are talking about, for COVID-19? Sure, what I need to do is stay clean, social distance, and get my work completed. For Drake? Whatever decisions they make I’m sure they are being responsible. Hopefully, they’re thinking about the students and their financial, transportation, and psychological problems in dealing with everything going on. To give students the option to go fully online/remote was certainly a professional and appropriate option as well as our professors.
If we are talking about what is going smooth for me or Drake, then both I feel are doing fine so far, I really don’t know what is going on “Behind the scenes.” It seems like class is working out for the most part for most, though I’ve heard that some cannot stand remote learning. What I believe is that different majors are going through different problems, some need that face to face/in-person experience to do well or to get help. I feel that a 15-minute window for a zoom meeting may not be enough for some if they must meet online for assistance.
I am clueless over what I’d do differently, be it social distancing, remote learning, or commuting. I want to have the best learning experience that I could get and only one of my classes is in person which is unfortunate, but these are times when selfishness doesn’t look well, and I know some have a preference or duty to distance themselves completely or due with or without a medical reason.
I feel we will all be doing the same thing for the next few years to come, not just next semester, this is because I haven’t seen much progress other than what we consider social distancing. With students going home and coming back, it would be ignorant to say that the chances of someone bringing back with the virus while also living on campus are next to none. When considering a global perspective, travel restrictions are still present, and some nations are worsening again, so I feel we must act accordingly.
Kylee Macke
Senior
Looking back over the past couple months, I think Drake University did handle this situation well. I think at the beginning there was a lot of upset emotions coming from the students because it felt as if we could not do anything at all and that it was a little unfair. There were also speculations that the university was not reporting the correct number of cases since they were not sharing any at all. But after that passed, I think as far as how we have operated and the fact that we are still on campus in November, yes they did a good job in trying to control us students and case numbers. As far as myself personally, I don't really do much anymore. I want to say that I personally believe that us student athletes are more restricted in what we can and cannot do compared to regular students. So, for myself it took a while to accept that we are restricted to who we live with and our team (now does that always happen, probably not). But I guess yes, I think I have done what I needed to in order to keep my team and roommates safe from contracting this virus.
Like I mentioned before, it took a while for everyone to really grasp the rules that have been put into place. Drake created a Compact that every student had to sign at the beginning of the semester, and I don't know if it really processed in the student body's mind what we could and could not do. I think the biggest bump in the road so far was that the students basically forced the university to release numbers so there was some controversy there. But the fact that we made it through the semester without having to go on a lockdown like a lot of other schools or that we have not had huge breakouts of cases and its November is incredible.
The only thing I would have done differently is that I would not have signed up for all online classes. If I would have known prior to switching to online that our volleyball season would be cancelled, I would have stayed with in-person. The online format has truly been a struggle for me. But other than that no I would not have done anything differently.
As sad as it is to say, I will be taking my classes online again next semester. We are set to start playing games in January, and since we will be traveling, I don't want to risk putting my team or my classmates/professors at risk of getting this virus or even quarantining. I really wanted to take my last semester of college in person, but it doesn't seem logical at this point. I also think we are in for a big surprise this winter. Cases are already skyrocketing right now and with flu season and the cold weather coming, I think the worst is yet to come.
Antonio Melendes
Senior
Now that we are more than halfway through the semester, do you think the right decisions were made (by both you and your school) during this semester?
Yes, I think decisions made by both myself and school were good. To be fair, I think I did an extremely good job to keep myself safe and do the right things in regards to living through this pandemic, but I think the school is trying their best too. I also had a family member pass away, so that added a lot of stress that I wish didn’t happen because I am usually a stressed person when it comes to school anyways and that has led to me being behind in a couple classes, but professors have being very understanding and helpful.
Have these changes gone smoothly? What worked? What went wrong?
Yeah, they have gone fairly smoothly. The bad part is that I got scared of going to class because of an increase of covid in Polk County and at Drake so I didn’t want to risk myself there. I think they’re trying with Hubble and what not though so at the end of the day if they’re trying then we can’t get too mad.
Knowing what you know now, would you have done anything differently?
I would’ve probably done everything the same, it’s just hard because it’s hard to prepare for something like this. You just have to be able to adapt and so that’s what I’ve been doing.
What do you think you will be doing next semester?
I’ll probably be online and trying my best to learn from there. We will see what happens though, I try to be optimistic and positive through all of this, so it’s going to be good! (Hopefully)
Cheyann Neades
Senior
I think personally, I made the right decisions by staying home and doing my classes online. I also think I made the right decisions with leading the student organization that I’m in charge of. Drake Mag is successfully creating the magazine virtually and being as safe as possible.
As of Drake, I think they were fine. While I don’t think schools should have been open, I do think their random testing and contact tracing did help immensely.
I think the transitions and changes were okay. I think what could’ve been better is professor’s making it clear what students do if they do get COVID and making syllabi/schedules clear to their students at the beginning/throughout the semester.
I think I would’ve requested that all my classes be online. For next semester, I will definitely request that. I think next semester will be the same, taking online classes and everything being virtual.
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Lucy Panfil
Junior
This semester I am taking some classes on campus and come classes online. I live off campus, so I do not eat in the cafeteria at all. However, I do know that it is open and have heard that they have been good about distancing and safety. I am living with three roommates this year, and I really like it. Last year I lived alone, and I know that if I lived alone this year I would be very lonely. I know that all of my roommates are taking Covid and social distancing seriously, so I feel safe living with them. We do not go out really, but still have fun hanging out with each other. I am lucky that we are ally really good friends, so we love hanging out together. My roommates and I have game nights and movie nights quite often. We also like to think up fun socially distant or outdoor activities to do. We have been to an outdoor botanical garden and are planning to go to an orchard soon. Regarding my online classes, I usually get out of my pajamas and into real clothes, but usually sit on my bed since my desk chair isn’t comfy. I feel more like I am actually in class when I change out of my pajamas. Regarding time management, I feel like I am not managing my time as well this semester as I usually do. I am much less motivated while taking online classes, so it is harder to make myself get off Netflix and do work. However, I am keeping up with my classes just fine.
Sydney Skemp
Sophomore
Now that we are more than halfway through the semester, I think that the decisions made by myself and my school have allowed me to have the best possible time this year at college. I appreciate how Drake has made very clear and smart guidelines that we need to abide by. They really do care about keeping us safe and allowing us to stay on this campus and get the most out of our college experience even through a global pandemic.
The changes took a while for people to adapt to. I saw this as we had a bit of an outbreak even within my sorority house. I think that after the first initial shock of the new normal we were able to adapt well to the changes as a university. Our numbers have been consistently low because people have learned how important it is to follow the rules.
I do not think I would have done anything differently this semester. I think there is an important balance of safety and normalcy that I was able to find and live by. Next semester I will still be living in the upperclassman dorms and am excited to see where the rest of the year takes me. I am hoping to have a few more in person classes next semester and hope as time goes by that we will be able to slowly get back to the way things are supposed to be going in college.
Sydney Clifton
Senior
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I think my school did a fantastic job of making the correct decisions this semester. We were one of the only schools in Iowa that was able to continue our in-person classes for the entire semester given our rules and guidelines. I also feel like our students at Drake have done an amazing job of abiding by those guidelines and being very cautious.
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At the beginning of the semester was a little rough as far as the rules and guidelines that were being put in place, and the communication between our administration with the number of cases and precautions we needed to be taking. They fixed this issue within the first two weeks of school, and since then everything has been running smoothly.
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Knowing what I know now, I would not have done anything differently. I would not have been able to come up with different solutions than what my college put forth.
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I think we will be doing the same thing, if not going to full remote status next semester. We are about to go into the flu season on top of still dealing with the COVID virus, so we could be headed into dangerous territory being around other people for extended periods of time.
Taryn Ripple
Junior
Honestly, I’m not sure whether or not I think that Drake has handled the pandemic well. I feel like we’re still in the stage of figuring out what works and what doesn’t, what is acceptable and what isn’t. I like the idea of the random testing the university has been conducting, but I’m not sure how accurate or effective it has been. Almost every update I’ve been sent states that zero people of the sample have tested positive, which doesn’t seem right to me, but I guess I’ll take their word for it.
On a more personal level, I think my roommates and I have done a decent job of staying safe throughout the pandemic. We mostly stick to our social “bubble” and wear masks when we are with people who are not in this group. We still go out and about, but only for necessities like grocery shopping and the like.
I will definitely be returning to campus again next semester, or at least I certainly plan to, especially since I have an apartment here. I like having roommates; it’s hard to be lonely with them, and I think this is a time that people really need companionship.
Jasmine Inthabounh
Junior
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I am the type of person that believes that everything happens for a reason. I think that Drake has made the necessary precautions on campus. I especially appreciate my professors. Most of them have been super understanding when it comes to the current situation whether there is a technical issue or Covid issue. For myself, the biggest decision that I made this semester was to move back home. This was tough for me because I was only away for two months. This then turned into me becoming fully online. I then made the decision to go online for spring semester. I think that this will be in my best interest and has proven my ability to adapt.
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For the most part, my personal changes have gone smoothly. I struggled to separate parts of my life. Almost doing everything at home and become overwhelming. Recently, Drake closed campus and I think it was a smart choice as cases rise in Des Moines. Since I made the decision earlier to move home, this didn’t affect me as much. I couldn’t imagine living in a dorm right now and how crazy it’d be to pick up and leave.
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Knowing what I know now, I wish I just stayed home instead of moving into the sorority house. Although, it was fun while it lasted, I wasted so much time moving and so much money for the time I was there. It wasn’t cheap to live there. I wish I was more cautious with Covid and not as optimistic to the idea that it wouldn’t affect a house full of 30 women.
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Next semester, I will be fully virtual. I feel excited but very nervous. I struggled to be completely honest with online school. Some days I would be so caught up in other schoolwork, I would forget about a class. I need to create good habits now as I go into the spring semester. I know myself and I know I can easily work myself up especially with my senior year coming up.
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I am the type of person that believes that everything happens for a reason. I think that Drake has made the necessary precautions on campus. I especially appreciate my professors. Most of them have been super understanding when it comes to the current situation whether there is a technical issue or Covid issue. For myself, the biggest decision that I made this semester was to move back home. This was tough for me because I was only away for two months. This then turned into me becoming fully online. I then made the decision to go online for spring semester. I think that this will be in my best interest and has proven my ability to adapt.
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For the most part, my personal changes have gone smoothly. I struggled to separate parts of my life. Almost doing everything at home and become overwhelming. Recently, Drake closed campus and I think it was a smart choice as cases rise in Des Moines. Since I made the decision earlier to move home, this didn’t affect me as much. I couldn’t imagine living in a dorm right now and how crazy it’d be to pick up and leave.
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Knowing what I know now, I wish I just stayed home instead of moving into the sorority house. Although, it was fun while it lasted, I wasted so much time moving and so much money for the time I was there. It wasn’t cheap to live there. I wish I was more cautious with Covid and not as optimistic to the idea that it wouldn’t affect a house full of 30 women.
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Next semester, I will be fully virtual. I feel excited but very nervous. I struggled to be completely honest with online school. Some days I would be so caught up in other schoolwork, I would forget about a class. I need to create good habits now as I go into the spring semester. I know myself and I know I can easily work myself up especially with my senior year coming up.
Madeline Kedrowski
Sophomore
Now that we are more than halfway through the semester, do you think the right decisions were made (by both you and your school) during this semester?
I think the right decision was made my Drake to keep us on campus and do a hybrid model with classes. I felt safe living in the dorms and being on campus. My friends and I were all smart and stayed safe!
Have these changes gone smoothly? What worked? What went wrong?
I think the changes have gone fairly smoothly. I think that we kept cases really under control here at Drake. I think having the random testing was really helpful to keeping students informed.
Knowing what you know now, would you have done anything differently?
I think that Drake did all they could and so I don’t think they could’ve done anything different!
What do you think you will be doing next semester?
I think I will be living on campus again in the dorm and hopefully be going to classes in person still!!