The
@Collegian_GCC @gcc.collegian The Collegian: The GCC Newspaper Friday, April 3, 2020
Collegian The Award-Winning Grove City College Student Newspaper
Vol. 105, No. 16
Campus stays closed
Team-ing up Profs and students weigh in on distance learning
Graduation postponed Collegian Staff
As Grove CIty moves to an online class platform, professors and students are coming together to bridge the gap created by distance learning with technology -- and it’s working.
Anna DiStefano News Editor
Today marks the conclusion of the second week of online classes after students returned home due to Covid-19. Students, faculty and staff have used this time to transform the traditional ways they learn and work in a time of extreme social distancing and national crisis. “These unprecedented circumstances have tested the
resilience of our learning community, and I’m thankful for how quickly and effectively we’ve responded. This quick transition in just a matter of days has required extraordinary effort,” President Paul J. McNulty ’80 said. Online instruction began on Monday, March 23, transforming more than 800 traditional lecture and lab courses to remote delivery and preparing 150 faculty for this new normal in less than
a week. The learning curve has been accelerated for all involved. “The transition to online has been remarkably smooth given that many of our faculty are very new to this modality,” Dr. Peter Frank ’95, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs said. “We have worked hard to train all the faculty, assign them mentors to work with and have offered continuous support in their teaching online.”
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With the help of online supports like Microsoft Teams, classes can be held synchronously, allowing for real-time interaction between professors and students. “I was excited to see that we would still get to interact with our students. That was a smart decision by our administration,” Dr. Gina Blackburn ’94, professor of education, said. ONLINE 3
A warm, computer welcome David Zimmermann Staff Writer
While most higher-ed institutions across the country have closed down all activities on campus including admissions events, the College has adapted to COVID-19 by creating a virtual opportunity for newly admitted students. Rather than offering an in-person Admitted Student Day, Marketing and Communications Manager Sarah Underwood ‘14 and Event Manager Lynise Massella came up with the idea to host a virtual Admitted Student Week on the ZeeMee app, a social media platform designed for college recruiting. Each night this week, admitted students have had the opportunity of listening to President McNulty ‘80, faculty and staff as well as engaging with current students via the nightly chats. Despite the cancellation of Admitted Student Day, Marketing Communications Developer Emily Morgan ‘16 said that organizing the virtual event was a rewarding experience for the Admissions Office. “We had far less time to prepare for this event than we did for Admitted Student Day and doing so virtually had its challenges. However, our team has really come together to make it happen, and we’re so grateful to President McNulty and all the current students, faculty and staff who have played a part in bringing the event to life,” Morgan said. Before Admitted Student Day was canceled, 187 admitted students were registered for the event, according to Massella. Admitted Student Week, which was organized in under two weeks after campus closed, saw over 250 students join the event this Monday. According to Vice President for Student Recruitment Lee Wishing ‘83, “Prospective students were certainly eager to dive in. It really was remarkable to see their vibrant interaction.” Senior management major Falco Muscante said, “I am amazed at the involvement of prospective students in the chats. Though you can’t get a full picture of what makes the College so great, it definitely gives a small picture of that. The College has stepped it up by
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With campus closed to students and visitors, the Office of Admissions has come up with a creative way to “host” prospective students for Admitted Student Day. offering a super innovative, interactive experience that other schools just aren’t doing.” Muscante, who is looking to attend law school in the fall, said that choosing a school is difficult since there is no current opportunity to visit. “For the schools I’m looking at, the admissions and financial aid offices really aren’t even answering their phones or responding to email quickly. In my frustration with these law schools, I am reminded of just how intentional Grove City is in being there for students to answer their questions and meet their needs.” With very few schools offering virtual visit options for students, junior economics major Susannah Barnes said that “Admitted Student Week really makes us stand out.” Barnes added, “Even though I think seeing the campus is indispensable, there is significantly more participation with the virtual Admitted Student Week. I’ve worked two in-person Admitted Student Days, and I feel like I’m getting to know students better in the
online format.” While the virtual event has its perks, it has one disadvantage: it’s not the same as visiting campus. Freshman biology/ health major Chelsea Asherson recognizes this. “I still think that an in-person Admitted Student Day is the best way to sell the school to students,” she said. “It’s the difference between firsthand and second-hand experience.” Although students may not have that first-hand experience this year, the virtual event makes up for this with ZeeMee’s chat function. Underwood said, “The nightly chats serve as a platform for admitted students to connect with each other, as well as with our current students who are available to answer questions and share more about their experiences at Grove City.” With the help of current students, Admitted Student Week would not have been possible. Massella said, “We’re very thankful to the students who have been helping us with this effort.”
Students won’t be coming back to campus for classes this semester and commencement for the class of 202o won’t be held as scheduled on May 16, College President Paul J. McNulty ’80 announced Friday. “As we grieve the loss of our on-campus life McNulty together this semester, especially for our seniors, we can look with hopefulness towards the great day when our community is back in full swing,” McNulty said in an email to the campus community. The email also indicated that intersession courses in May will be delivered online. The administration’s decision regarding refunds for students and dates for moving items out of the dorms have not yet been decided. While graduation will not be held as planned, Larry Hardesty, vice president of Student Life and Learning, will poll the senior class to determine how to proceed, McNulty said. Earlier this week, The Collegian sat down with McNulty (well, actually, we emailed in order to maintain social distancing) to catch up on the college’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. The transition to online classes was one of the biggest initial challenges that the administration faced. “The faculty have adjusted quite well and they’re reporting encouraging things about student engagement. We are greatly blessed to have our laptop program because it gave us digital unity when we needed it most,” McNulty said. McNulty reflected on the difficulties of living on campus without students around, “This is not how things should be, and we personally thrive on the campus life. It’s the heart of our calling.” Despite missing students and the activity of campus, McNulty said, “I’ve always been more of a big city type of person, but, at the moment, rural life feels pretty good. So, experiencing happiness on an unexpectedly empty campus is a picture of living in a fallen world. Life can be happy, but things are not as they were intended to be.” When the administration was first responding to the new threat, they “did not have the government orders and guidelines we are living with now. So, I was trying to find a way to balance the strong student desire to stay together as a community with the need to transition to online classes. I also needed to communicate our plans to the campus community as quickly as possible. As the shut-down orders were MCNULTY 2
Editorial
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The award-winning Grove City College student newspaper, April 3, 2020
From the Editor’s desk
Talking to monsters Grace Tarr
Editor-in-Chief Kids say the darndest things. My six-yearold twin sisters Margaret and Ruth are delightful, and their foibles and comical commentary have kept me on my toes in quarantine. Sometimes I miss their remarks while I go about my day, but occasionally what they say is so funny or just plain ridiculous that it rattles me from my work. Lately, both girls have started to be afraid of going places in the house alone. I still remember when I made my long-suffering older sister accompany me on any venture I went on throughout our house. This phase passes of course, but the monsters under the bed are still very real to them. My first night home on quarantine, Margaret had a nightmare and came tiptoeing into my bedroom at 3 am. “Are monsters real?” the wide-eyed toothless face whispered inches from my previously sleeping head. “No,” I said. I’m still not sure I said the right thing. The middle of the night didn’t seem like the time to explain that monsters are very much real, just not the kind she is afraid of encountering under her bed. The monsters are around us and sometimes in us and sometimes they look very much like a virus. The other day, Margaret had to go into the basement for something she needed. The idea of the basement sometimes scares her, but
as I saw her surveying the stairs at the door, I decided that I must let her fight some internal battles on her own; these monsters are her own to slay. So there Margaret stood at the top of the stairs, hesitating to tip toe down. Right before she took the first step, she belted at the top of her lungs, “Satan, get behind me, God come help me!” I stopped what I was doing, utterly baffled by what I heard and trying not to burst out laughing. I have no idea where she learned any of that phrase or where she got the idea to shout it into the stairwell, but when I realized what she yelled I almost suffocated from holding in my laughter. The sheer childlikeness of her audacious command was striking. In Luke 18:17, Jesus says, “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it (ESV).” Margaret shared an integral piece of what it means to be childlike to me in that moment. She didn’t ask for my hand to hold as she went down, she called in the big guns - God Himself. Perhaps you are like me. When we face monsters, we talk to other people and find a hand to hold, we avoid the problem all together by running away or maybe, my personal go-to, we say lukewarm requests for God’s will to be done. But what if God wanted us to shout for him before looking to anyone else? What if he is looking for our honesty rather than our bravery? And what if evil in our lives and around us really does need a good stern talking to?
Collegian Staff Editor-in-Chief
Copy Chief
Managing Editor
Business Manager
Section Editors News
Copy Editors
Grace Tarr Paige Fay
Anna DiStefano
Community Fiona Lacey
Perspectives Josh Tatum
Entertainment Nora Sweeney
Sports
Connor Schlosser
Photo Chief Wes Kinney
Britney Lukasiewicz
More than survival Three tips for living well in quarantine
Dr. Caleb Verbois
ing to the needs of my children. As a result, I am spending even more time than usual reading and playing games with them. My four-yearold son is currently obsessed with Stratego and War. We play incessantly! As students, you most likely suddenly find yourselves back at home with your families. Instead of wallowing in missed events at the college, on social media or binge watching “The Office” again, maybe you could think about ways to spend more time with your younger siblings or write or call grandparents. There are worse things than a canceled sports season, campus event or even a missed graduation. Millions of people in our country have lost, or are about to lose their jobs, and face a frightening and uncertain future. Pray for them. Third, it really is possible to watch too much Netflix (or whatever your version of that is). Take advantage of the fact that just about every great museum and orchestra in the world has made much of their offerings free online during the corona pandemic. Or, pick up a good and per-
haps even familiar book. I just finished reading Helena Sorenson’s really wonderful “Shiloh” series, which is deeply sad, beautiful and hopeful all at once. My wife calls good books old friends, and old friends can be a comfort in times of distress. I decided to pick up the “Harry Potter” books again, as an old friend. In the last few days, I read the “Little House in the Big Woods” out loud to all of my children. And I am continuing to read the “Lord of the Rings” with my eight year old - we just finished the battle of Minas Tirith, and last night we read the chapter, “Houses of Healing,” when the Return of the King is signified by the healing he brings to the sick and dying. In this present crisis, Tolkien’s understanding of the healing power of the one true and long-awaited king descends in a new and powerful way. It is a helpful reminder to me of our one true hope.
he has for students living in quarantine, McNulty recontinued from 1 flected, “This subject weighs announced, it was clear that heavily on my heart. I’ve we needed to send students sent a couple messages to home,” McNulty said. students because I know how After the initial response, difficult this whole experithe college has continued to ence is. I hope to keep these deal with the ramifications of encouragements going. In the virus. “This affects every time, this sadness will fade employee. We also have ma- as exciting new experiences jor financial issues to man- come along. age. Perhaps one of our big“It will in fact be a pecugest challenges is recruiting liar distinction to be from the next year’s freshmen class. class of 2020. John Piper We normally get hundreds of wrote a little book entitled, visits to campus during this “Don’t Waste Your Cancer.” stretch of time, and we’ve He wants us to see that God had to create a virtual experi- allows extreme hardships to ence for admitted students.” come along so He can fashWhen asked what advice ion us into the people we are
called to be. So, GCC students have a choice. They can feel like victims and dwell unendingly on what they’ve lost. Or, after an understandable season of sadness, they can use this experience to learn how to manage grief and grow in godliness. “I suspect that in years to come, the best reunion class will be the class of 2020 because they will never take their connections with each other for granted. I don’t know where I’ll be in 2025, 2030 and beyond, but Brenda and I will look forward, Lord willing, to joining these fantastic reunion celebrations.”
Professor of Political Science Living in a quarantined world has an alien feel to it – the world is the same but yet not quite the same, news is basically all bad (which, I suppose, is not really news) but now it seems really bad; what should we do? First, do not lose contact with your church. Participate as fully as possible in their remote services Verbois or whatever they are providing. If your tradition utilizes daily prayers, like the Book of Common Prayer Anglicans use, actually use them. Your church is probably sending e-mails about physical and spiritual needs of the body, virtual Bible studies, or something similar; engage with them as much as you can. Second, I think it is helpful to think less about our own difficulties and more about those around us. As a dad to three small children, I find I am much less worried about the news or my retirement account when I am respond-
MCNULTY
Quarantine Floor Plan
Davis Miller
Natalie Dell Claire Josey Michael Martin Lauren Ness Elizabeth Schinkel Caleb West Joanna Thorpe
Staff Writers
Katheryn Frazier David Smith Mackenzie Stine Mallory Trumbull Jules Wooldbridge David Zimmermann
Staff Adviser
Nick Hildebrand
The Collegian is the student newspaper of Grove City College, located in Grove City, Pa. Opinions appearing on these pages, unless expressly stated otherwise, represent the views of individual writers. They are not the collective views of The Collegian, its staff or Grove City College.
Green Eyeshade Award the
This week’s Green Eyeshade Award goes to... David Zimmermann for his journalistic work in the face of adversity and dedication to producing front page news week after week.
ZIMMERMANN
GRACE TARR
News The Collegian,
April 3, 2020
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The good, without the bad or ugly Fiona Lacey
Community Editor
Paige Fay
Grove City campus looks a lot different than the typical weekly hustle between classes, chapel and work. Amid the recent outbreak of COVID-19, campus is now shut down to all visitors.
Those who remain
Reflections on living on a closed campus Paige Fay
Managing Editor Grove City College campus in March is typically bubbling with activity. As spring begins and the sun starts to shine more often, students bustle about on campus going to classes and meetings and playing spikeball on the lawns. But, with a global pandemic and quarantine firmly in place, the campus is quiet. Despite the silence, some students remain on campus taking online classes and waiting out the pandemic. The 26 students who remain on campus are mainly international students. “Campus is very quiet, and everything is slow. I’ve been seeing a lot of families walking their dogs around campus and it’s made Campus Safety very busy with trying to keep track of who they see on campus,” senior Emmanuel Agladima said. “There’s no ‘hustle and bustle’ walking places and the dorms are so quiet it’s eerie sometimes,” freshman Chelsea Asherson said. Being away from home is hard, but the students find ways to stay in contact with their families. “I call my family pretty often, and we all stay connected,” said sophomore Barnabas Chen. Asherson said the distance isn’t much different than before the pandemic. “My family’s in Australia and I wasn’t planning on going home for any breaks, so I guess I was the most prepared for this,” she said. “I’m still in contact with my family through texting and FaceTiming
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continued from 1 Dr. Kristen Waha, professor of English, noted that the online platforms give voices to students who tend to be quiet in the traditional classroom setting. “It has been lovely to try out different formats for discussion, such as online written forums,” Waha said. “I have been able to hear from students who are often more reserved in class, but who offer fascinating written insights on texts, which their peers can learn from, and which I can then highlight and expand on in Teams sessions.” Professor of psychology Dr. Warren Throckmorton uses these forums to promote as much of the in-class experience as possible.
like usual.” These students stay in their respective dorms and have access to some campus buildings, such as the library, Ket Rec and South Rec, and Hicks dining hall. They get together in Ket Rec and have game nights two or three times a week and often meet in the STU to catch up with one another. “Most of us eat dinner together,” Agladima said. “We just had a bonfire with s’mores last weekend,” Chen said. “There are a few peeps who still prefer being alone, but it’s okay.” The students pointed out some positives to staying on campus. Asherson highlighted that meals are still provided for them and they can still enjoy the beauty of campus. “It’s easier for me to stay in ‘school mode,’ there are other students on campus to interact with and I don’t have to make my own food,” Agladima explained. “I think the best part for staying on campus would be the fellowship and food,” Chen said. “Hicks is way better in case you are wondering. And I’m glad to see a group of people who never would’ve hung out now being close friends and forming a tight community.” Also staying on campus are President and Mrs. McNulty. Both miss the students but, like the students, are adjusting to life in quarantine and making the most of their time. They have been keeping up with their family and Mrs. McNulty has started
“I use the Forum on my.gcc.edu to get conversation going,” Throckmorton said. “The chat and posting feature on Teams is a lot like social media platforms, which help create some interaction.” Sophomore Josh Spicher noted some of the challenges that come with the transition. “The transition to online has had its ups and downs. It is much more difficult to focus with classes online compared to a physical classroom,” Spicher said. “My schedule, though, hasn’t really changed. I still have the same class times, and I eat at around the same time every day.” Freshman Devon Willis mentioned the shift in atmosphere of learning. “It’s still a weird vibe. Nothing school-
reading a book to their grandson over FaceTime. President McNulty takes periodic breaks from work to watch recorded all-time greatest games on the Major League Baseball channel. “The campus is a beautiful place as we all know, so it’s sort of like living in a park. And even though it stinks not having students here this time of year, there’s something generally inspirational about the grounds that feeds my soul,” President McNulty said. Living on campus in an unusual time has given everyone a fresh perspective about campus. “I think it will make me appreciate the activities on campus and community even more,” Asherson said about next semester. “I’ve really enjoyed this time on campus because I get to be a part of a wonderful group of people,” Agladima said. “Prior to this shutdown, I ate about 80 percent of my meals alone and now that’s no longer the case. There are no cliques.” “Brenda and I have always had skyhigh enthusiasm for campus life, but I know going forward I will have many moments of quiet rejoicing as I witness our community enjoying life together,” President McNulty said.
related seems quite real. It’s like we’re in limbo.” Blackburn has been looking for ways to maintain her classroom community and support students during this time. “This week I started taking prayer requests and we spend time in prayer after our weekly devotional. We also shared our pets yesterday and voted for the cutest one,” Blackburn said. “Things are getting so depressing that I thought maybe that would brighten their day a little.” As students and faculty acclimate to these new delivery methods, Frank said the College will continue to find ways to improve distance learning without being too disruptive to the changes that have already taken place. “We are continually looking at ways to improve the
delivery of classes, and how to meet the course objectives, given the significant change to distance delivery in all courses,” Frank said. “Various new technologies are being assessed in real time, but however the semester proceeds we plan to avoid any highly disruptive changes.” The College’s technology package has helped with this unprecedented change. More than 25 years ago, the College was one of the first to provide every incoming freshman with a laptop computer, a program that continues to this day. “This has been the number one reason behind making this transition to online instruction and working remotely so much easier,” according to Vice President for Enrollment Services and Registrar Dr. John Inman,
I’m sure we all need a break from the CNN articles and Trump White House soundbites. I’m pretty sure that more bad news is not the recipe for our nation’s happiness right now. Read the news, but when you’re finished, put your phone down and go do something else. I am sad to say that I myself have had a few existential crises just from reading the news in the last few days. Take heart, friends. We can always find some good in the uncertainty. • Due to recent demands of ventilators, for those infected with COVID-19 and cannot breathe, Ford has decided to start manufacturing their own ventilators to help. • A week ago, a controlled study found that the very common antibiotics of azithromycin and chloroquine could help treat the coronavirus. Since a vaccine takes sometimes years to create, the instant availability of a cure through prescription drugs is a huge plus. • Hospitals throughout the U.S. have created “drive-through” testing areas to perform quick and efficient testing on individuals with symptoms. For example, the Cleveland Clinic has created “On-site Rapid Testing” for patients. • As of the White House’s Wednesday press briefing, President Trump announced that if the country had not responded as fast as they did, the virus might have resulted in 2 million deaths, instead of the predicted 100,000 number. • As of two days ago, President Trump announced the creation of a 5-minute self-testing kit for Americans to perform at home • China has closed down its last emergency hospital, due to less cases of the virus • South Korea’s cases are decreasing every day who was instrumental in setting up the laptop program a generation ago. In some ways, that common infrastructure – or digital unity – makes it easier to scale up the distance delivery plans developed by the College’s Information Services Technology and Graduate and Online Programs teams. “If you would have told me that we’d put the faculty and every class online in a week I’d say that’s going to be challenging, but here we are,” Dr. Vincent DiStasi ’88, vice president for Information Technology and chief information officer, said. “By God’s grace, when this monumental challenge is behind us, I believe we will find that our beloved College is a stronger institution,” McNulty said.