Stay Gold

The COVID-19 Pandemic Challenges Oswego Community to Thrive in the Face of Adversity

EARLY MARCH 2020, a busy spring semester was well underway. Professors were giving midterms, the Gospel Choir was planning its 40th Anniversary celebration for April, the annual Graduates Of the Last Decade March Matchness Fundraising Challenge had started and students were preparing for spring break. Political science major Daiana Diaz ’20 had already ordered new clothes and bathing suits for her long-anticipated senior year spring break trip with 12 of her closest friends.

Public relations major Victoria “Tori” Kammer ’20 had applied to several jobs and was lining up in-person interviews for when she was home in Manhattan over spring break. Broadcasting and mass communication major Rory Parker ’21 was applying for summer internships as he developed his shot reel.

Resident advisor Samantha Zerbinos ’20 was setting decorations and games for Scales Hall residents for an upcoming large-scale program when she started to hear rumblings about flights getting cancelled due to some virus.

“I was also busy with group projects and essays, excited to go home for spring break and bond with family for what was expected to be a week,” Samantha recalled. “I remember being annoyed at the virus being brought up in every single class. It hadn’t really hit the USA yet, right?” As chief of Student Association Volunteer Ambulance Corps (SAVAC), Mike Russo ’20 saw the information coming out of the Department of Health and the regional EMS councils.

“I knew that this was definitely not something to take lightly,” he said. “I remember getting into arguments with roommates in my suite as they attempted to downplay this as just the flu.” Then on MARCH 11, two days before the college’s spring break, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that all SUNY campuses would be suspending all faceto-face academic instruction. For how long? No one knew. Should students take all of their belongings home with them at break? Is the campus closing? Could students stay on campus if they wanted to? Will students be able to keep their campus jobs to continue to earn money for their living expenses? What is the college doing to ensure every person’s safety? What supports will faculty receive to convert their courses to an online or distance learning format? Will staff stay on campus or will they have to work from home, too? THE QUESTIONS CAME FAST AND FROM EVERY DIRECTION. Several weeks prior to this announcement SUNY Oswego President Deborah F. Stanley had convened her team of senior college administrators and also established an on-campus COVID-19 task force who were working around the clock to put contingency plans into place and compile answers to these questions, as best they could.