Sage Kiernan-Sherrow | News Editor
Regarding COVID-19, in a previous article published by The Western Howl, Jennifer King, the Medical Services Director at Western’s Student Health and Counseling Center, stated that “the risk is very low for Oregon. We don’t have any cases or contacts from Wuhan, so it’s a very low risk for the university.” That interview took place on Jan. 30, nine days after the first cases were reported in Washington state. Now, two months later, Oregon has a total of 1,580 cases and 53 deaths as of April 14, according to The New York Times — 280 of those cases being in the neighboring Marion County and one being an anonymous Western student.
On March 23, Governor Kate Brown issued a statewide stay-at-home order. In compliance, Western effectively restructured classes for complete online delivery in the face of the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, changing the lives of both students and staff members alike.
Dozens of emails have been sent out by Western’s administration to its students, as new updates are unfolding seemingly every hour.
“We were careful,” said President Rex Fuller about releasing information to the public, “the virus was underestimated from the beginning and we knew our statements needed to be based on facts and science … we followed guidance from the OHA, the CDC, and Governor Brown.”
Students dependent on their classroom routines, students without access to technology and students depending on the university for their monthly income or medical services were immediately vulnerable because of this change.
Luckily, Western implemented strategies and resources to help students acclimate to the new digital learning landscape. Bill Kernan, the Director of Computing Services, said that this change has been a challenge, nonetheless.
“After it was made known to us that there were students who didn’t have internet access, we ordered a batch of hotspots and prepared rental laptops. We held an emergency UTAC meeting to where it was decided the university would purchase an unlimited educational Zoom license and we had to enable it in a single weekend,” said Kernan.
At the SHCC, the staff immediately began seeing an influx in students reporting symptoms similar to COVID-19, and for everyone’s safety, the SHCC Director, Beth Scroggins, sent out an email on March 4 asking that students call ahead for triaging.
“Our big concern was keeping our staff safe and healthy so that SHCC could remain open and provide services for the students,” said Scroggins.
However, those services have been altered — mainly, the mode of delivery. On April 4, Scroggins sent a campus-wide email informing students of online appointments through a video service called Doxyme. The SHCC will also remain open for crisis counseling and COVID-19 testing.
For students worried about their financial situation — and maybe frustrated about not receiving that $1,200 stimulus check due to being claimed as a dependent — Western has confirmed that payroll services will remain unchanged and the SLCD sent out an email on April 2 featuring financial resources. For students worried about where their next meal is coming from, the Food Pantry and Valsetz Dining Hall are still accessible and more information about hours can be found on their respective websites.
Despite the university’s attempts to offer resources, students still have criticisms of certain administrative decisions — mainly, the decisions to cancel all in-person finals for Winter Term and to hold a virtual Commencement for Spring Term graduates. Unlike many other schools, Western only holds one commencement per year, and President Rex Fuller said he, “could not in good conscious risk the safety of the students, guests, and the hundreds of staff members which make commencement possible” by holding an in-person event.
Graduating senior, ASL/English interpreting major Alyssa Sandoval expressed her frustrations by stating, “this last term was supposed to be huge for me … I was supposed to be working in an internship out of state … experience life in the field I’ve been studying … now due to COVID-19 this has all been turned upside down. Western can’t control the closure of my internship site… but, the seniors have worked so hard and we deserve to have the recognition of a true commencement.”
Overall, Western has kept in constant contact with both the authorities and its students, but regardless, some students are still mourning the loss of normalcy and adapting to the current changes is something that will continue to be an (online) learning process for everyone involved.
Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu
Illustration by Rachel Hetzel
