Pacific Wave: Back to School 2020

r du ring

qua

rant

ine

pg.

4

y

bee

to r uin

m

ing

Why I decided

B re w

ow

SUPPLEMENT TO THE DAILY

Cover by Abigail Dahl @abbydahll

n

c so

ial

pg. life

18

2

The Daily - Back to School 2020

Letter from the editors Ah sh*t, here we go again.

Back to school, back to our rooms, back to attending lectures from bed, back to cheating-that-isn’t-cheatinganymore, back to club meetings in which the president is frozen the whole time.

There’s a lot of things we can’t help but feel like we’re missing out on this fall, but there’s also a whole lot we’re not missing — getting too sweaty on your walk to class and getting a hot flash when you walk inside, the way people sometimes smell way too strongly of peanut butter when they sit next to you in lecture halls, the exhausting days, and the lack of free time. While we hate to even mention it, it’s an undeniable fact that COVID has changed nearly every aspect of our lives, especially how we feel about going back

THE DAILY Advertising Managers

Editor-in-Chief Mac Murray

Preston Bingley

editor@dailyuw.com

preston@dailyuw.com

Pacific Wave Editors

emma@dailyuw.com

Charlotte Housten

admanager@dailyuw.com

Emma Koehler

to school. Whether you are dreading the Zoom lectures or excited to have some structure added back to your days, we all are experiencing mixed feelings about this approaching year and what will and won’t be. This issue, we have stories from students who experience loss, who come dangerously close to it, and who seek to understand it. We also did some drugs. We hope this issue of Pacific Wave helps you gently usher in the season of new pens and cozier days.

Chamidae Ford pacificwave@dailyuw.com Advertising Inquiries

Pacific Wave Design Editor Abigail Dahl

206.543.2336

pacwavedesign@dailyuw.com

ads@dailyuw.com

Copy Chiefs

Publisher

Diana Davidson

Diana Kramer

Trevor Hunt

dianakramer@dailyuw.com

copy@dailyuw.com Illustration Editor Photo Editor

Abigail Dahl

Nicole Pasia

illustrations@dailyuw.com

photo@dailyuw.com

The University of Washington acknowledges the Coast Salish peoples of this land, the land which touches the shared waters of all tribes and bands within the Suquamish, Tulalip and Muckleshoot nations.

Chamidae Ford and Charlotte Houston

Stay Healthy, Stay Social with UW Libraries!

Have fun, meet friends, win prizes and learn how UW Libraries can help you make the most of your first year!

Huskies Go: A Virtual Quest

Track down a mysterious creature roaming through the UW Libraries. Complete tasks and collect raffle tickets for awesome prizes, including a Nintendo Switch Lite!

Sept. 24 through Oct. 3

Stay Quizzical: UW Libraries Trivia Test your knowledge in this online trivia contest and win prizes!

Fri, Sept. 25, 2:00 - 3:30 pm

Welcome to UW Libraries!

Undergraduate Research for Community College Transfer Students

Check the Dawg Daze calendar for dates and times.

Tues, Sept. 29, 5:00 - 6:00 pm

In this virtual "tour" of Libraries services, you'll learn the secret to student success AND the chance to win some awesome prizes.

Are you an incoming community college transfer student? Learn about research opportunities at UW and how the libraries can support your research.

Find these events and more on the Libraries calendar and Dawg Daze event calendar! www.lib.washington.edu www.uwdawgdaze.com/

The Daily - Back to School 2020

3

! s e i k s u ?

H r y He ca

a d . e g e N b a Gi a r G Convenient Affordable Physically Distant

Free Gas Free Parking Free Insurance

New Member Offer: Download the app and use code GOHUSKIES for your first hour FREE* Download GIG Car Share and apply the code under “Payments and Promos” in the app. Offer valid for new Members only. Offer expires 12/31/2020. $1 Access Fee will be added at the end of each completed trip and is not a part of the promotional offer. Restrictions apply. Visit gigcarshare.com for details.

4

The Daily - Back to School 2020

By Andy Chia The Daily

Brewing beer during quarantine Hop to it

Irika olet

tyvi

guil

a@

Sinh

Before beginning my brewing journey, I found myself with little knowledge, a sizable order of brewing supplies, and a copy of “Brewing Microbiology” by Charles Bamforth, Ph.D. This was a new venture into food science for me. Despite majoring in microbiology and taking courses in microbial ecology, I knew next to nothing about how to brew beer. I knew how to bake bread and ferment food in general from cooking daily meals, but beer and liquor always seemed like a pipe-dream for an amateur like me.

When the five-gallon pot, liquid malt extract, and specialty grains arrived on my doorstep, I thought that this was going to be an involved process. But actually, this assumption couldn’t have been further from the truth. Brewing beer is a lot simpler when done in small, non-industrial batches.

I start each brew looking at a spreadsheet I created to optimize my favorite brew. Right now I’m trying to work through a barley-oat beer, though I think

I prefer a pure barley beer.

When I start to pour the initial batch of water, I’m always concerned that I’ll burn myself. I’m clumsy, which means the 150 degree Fahrenheit water could easily scald me. But this temperature is the best to help start the brew, so I grit my teeth and pour the 2.5 gallons in anyway.

Afterward comes the steeping step.

I’ve always been more of a fan of coffee myself, but the specialty grain (typically barley, wheat, and/or oats) gets bundled into a cheesecloth bag that ends up looking like a misshapen giant tea bag which my little sister posts to her Instagram to amuse her friends. At this point, I’m poking at the bag to make sure that the flavor comes out, but I’m always afraid that the solution will become bitter.

“Flavor town” isn’t something that I think suits my personal taste. While some people like to leave their bag of grains in for longer, I remove my bag after 30 minutes and let any remaining flavor drip into the solution.

Continue reading at dailyuw.com Reach writer Andy Chia at pacificwave@ uw.edu. Twitter: @GreatBaconBaron.

Division of Student Life

YOU DON’T HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN BOOKS OR BREAKFAST. Anyone with a valid Husky ID is welcome Hours and information can be found on our website, or by scanning the QR code. washington.edu/anyhungryhusky

The Daily - Back to School 2020

5

Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship

6

The Daily - Back to School 2020

How to not be stuck inside this autumn Getting outdoors when the weather gets gloomy

Greta DuBois @greta.a_art

By Henry Zing The Daily Wandering through a fairyland of pools and creeks, cutting across meadows ablaze with patches of vibrant orange, Mt. Rainier National Park’s Skyline Trail leads into a heavy mist toward the obscured mountain above. A cold breeze rises from below, swirling around rocky outcrops, welcoming beanies and puffies.

A few figures emerge from the mist, exchanging smiles as they pass, but the trail is quiet, the bustling summer crowds now absent. Suddenly, the fog directly to the south parts, revealing the tips of the Tatoosh Range poking through a sea of clouds.

This is autumn hiking in the Cascades. While the consistently dry weather and long days that make Washington summers unrivaled for outdoor recreation may disappear toward the end of September, autumn provides a brief but unique period for experiencing the region’s ecological and meteorological transition to winter.

“In autumn we transition out of the summer drought and into the rainier time of year,” Tim Billo, a lecturer in the program on the environment, said.

The most obvious allure of outdoor recreation in the fall is the opportunity to see the landscape bathed in hues of red, orange, and yellow.

“We don’t really get the fall color display here in Western Washington quite the way other regions would,” Billo said.

However, spectacular fall colors can be found if you know where to look.

While deciduous trees — those mostly responsible for fall color — are less frequent in Washington (we are the Evergreen State, after all), bigleaf maple and cottonwood trees can be found in wetter areas along Western Washington’s rivers.

One such area, the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge, is an ideal location to observe snow geese, trumpeter swans, and other migratory birds as they arrive from the north, as well as colorful tree frogs that emerge to breed on the wet ground.

“The Nisqually Delta is great at any time of year, but it’s really fun in the fall,” Billo said. “I don’t think a lot of people realize

how much is going on there in the fall.”

In the mountains, the elusive western larch and subalpine larch, both deciduous conifer trees, have needles that turn a vibrant golden color in the autumn months, transforming rocky Cascade slopes into an ethereal wonderland.

Billo recommended searching for larches in early to mid-November in the Enchantments, the Teanaway River Drainage, and Cutthroat Pass area, as they are best found in high regions east of the Cascade Crest.

“Hopefully you find a weekend where it’s cold and clear, before the snows really settle in, and you can be rewarded with a really brilliant display of color,” Billo said.

While on the hunt for golden larches, your journey might bring you to Bavarian-themed Leavenworth. However, given the pandemic, its bustling sausage houses and curiosity shops might not be the wisest place to celebrate Oktoberfest this year.

Thankfully, the surrounding area offers plentiful opportunities for embracing the Bavarian love of the mountains.

Pick up a six-pack from Icicle Creek Brewery and point your compass toward the brewery’s namesake, a mountain-lined river valley that provides access to the Enchantments and the Central Cascades, as well as immediate-access to quality granite rock climbing.

Initial snow in the mountains is typically brief and melts before the arrival of permanent snow in early November, making for unusual hiking opportunities.

“It’s really fun to hike up in the subalpine zone, those summer trails, with a dusting of snow, and sometimes you see the red leaves of the huckleberry and blueberry poking out,” Billo said.

Once heavy snows blanket the Cascades and Olympics, skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling become the primary forms of outdoor recreation in the mountains, but plenty of opportunities exist for spending time in the outdoors elsewhere in the state.

Eastern Washington contains several pockets of public lands suitable for fall and winter recreation. Frenchman Coulee, an

The Daily - Back to School 2020

underappreciated conservation area located a few miles south of the Gorge Amphitheater, offers a variety of ways to enjoy the Gorge’s desert vistas and basalt cliffs.

Although temperatures in Frenchman Coulee (often unbearably hot in the summer) drop abruptly in the fall, from a daily average of 64 degrees Fahrenheit in October to a brisk 48 in November, precipitation remains minimal throughout the winter, providing an ideal and convenient escape from Western Washington’s gloomy weather for those willing to bundle up.

Frenchman Coulee, known to rock climbers as “Vantage” (the name of a local town), offers hundreds of sport and trad routes for every level of climbing ability. For issues of social distancing, you might want to avoid Sunshine Wall, where the bulk of Vantage’s classics are concentrated, instead focusing your efforts on some of the lesser-known pockets of climbing. Brenden Sullivan and Jim Yoder’s recently updated climbing guide “Frenchman Coulee” can be picked at the Feathered Friends shop or REI in downtown Seattle.

Besides climbing, Frenchman Coulee is also a prime location for wandering sagebrush-laden mesas and marveling at the geological forces of volcanism and the Missoula Floods that created and exposed the basalt columns lining the rim of the Columbia’s coulees.

While autumn and winter rain might seem inescapable in Western Washington, certain areas of this part of the state do receive lower amounts of precipitation than others, resulting in the occasional opportunity to experience dry weather while rain and clouds persist elsewhere.

For example, as a result of weather patterns and the Olympic Mountains, a rain shadow effect occurs around the town of

7

Sequim, located on the northern edge of the Olympic Peninsula.

Known by locals as the “Blue Hole,” this atmospheric phenomenon makes the Dungeness Spit an ideal autumn and winter hike when the weather is unsuitable for outdoor activities elsewhere.

Located two and a half hours via car and ferry from the U-District, the 6.8-mile narrow strip of land juts out into the Strait of Juan de Fuca and makes for a spectacular beach hike with views of Mt. Baker and the Olympics. It also provides plenty of opportunities for watching shore birds.

Seattle’s Carkeek Park, another excellent (and much more accessible) beach park, can be accessed via public transit and on foot if you’re unable to obtain a car. During the fall, Piper’s Creek, which runs through Carkeek Park, rewards visitors with the return of Chum salmon.

“The ones in Piper’s Creek are hatchery-raised, and they release them in the creek, and they imprint on that creek,” Billo said. “And then they come back after [three to four] years at sea.”

While outdoor recreation in the fall requires traveling a little farther, packing a few more layers, and some unpredictable luck, you are sure to be rewarded with brilliant colors, wildlife, and perhaps the start of a new autumn tradition.

Reach writer Henry Zing at pacificwave@dailyuw.com.

Twitter: @ZingHenry

8

The Daily - Back to School 2020

Irika Sinha @guiltyviolet

Pink sunsets and Spotify playlists Coping with heartbreak in the world of ‘rona

By Maya Tizon The Daily We met up in the middle of the night at a Starbucks parking lot that was halfway for both of us. I sat numb in his car for hours as he told me “this wasn’t the right time,” and “maybe if we met earlier or later this would’ve worked.,” At aand around 1 a.m., he ended our relationship with an “I hope one day we can at least be friends.”

I drove away first. I could’ve waited for him to change his mind and take it all back, but I left as quickly as I could, avoiding my rearview mirror for one last look.

I had officially experienced the beginning and end of a relationship entirely in quarantine.

I met him last summer through mutual friends — he gave good hugs, always asked how I was doing. He admired my writing and read all my articles. I admired the way he danced, being a dancer myself. I thought we’d be good together, in this lifetime or any

other, and he felt the same.

We had our first date at the start of lockdown. He made dinner at my apartment, and we clicked instantly.

We spent nearly everyday together the weeks after, wandering the empty streets of Seattle as if we were the only people in the world. We’d sleep in every morning with no responsibilities to attend to, and talk all night about the things we could do once this was all over. It felt like a dream — I was completely mesmerized by him. I had relationships before, but these butterflies were new. For the first time, I thought I could’ve been in love.

But dreams don’t last forever, and eventually we both woke up to realize that we had grievances from our pasts and different outlooks on the world that had started rapidly changing around us.

“I don’t think I’m in love with you, but I do love you,” he said that night in the parking lot.

We were together for three months, but after our breakup, my brain blocked out any memories I had of that time.

I drove myself crazy not knowing if he was even real or just one long quarantine delusion.

At first, I tried to just bury it all.

When the protests for George Floyd started, and especially after we broke up, I was in full survival mode, only focused on surviving a pandemic that felt like the government had abandoned us in, and the revolution against that same system that inflicted never-ending violence on Black and Indigenous people.

I was terrified to just be alive, especially in this new world I only knew with him.

I stayed awake most nights with anxiety attacks that made me lose my breath, and eventually the pain he left me with hit a boiling point — I had to deal with these emotions and move forward somehow. But I didn’t know how to do that anymore — I was too numb to write or do summer quarter work to distract me like how I usually deal with heartbreak, and just seeing my friends, let alone meeting new people, was still a risk.

So how the f--- was I supposed to move on in a global pandemic?

The Daily - Back to School 2020

I started small: I wrote out reminders of small tasks to complete when I woke up and put them on my mirror. Make your bed, open your blinds, remember what’s in your control.

With no deadlines to meet or social life to attend to, I took this circumstance as a forcible sign from the universe that this time, I had to process all my hurt feelings to their fullest extent instead of running away from them.

For a while, that last conversation was the only vivid memory I had left of our relationship. I yelled into the air what I couldn’t say to him until my words turned into tears. I was so mad at him for making me feel like this, so hurt at him for leaving so easily. Finally, I took these feelings and channeled them into creativity.

I impulsively cut my long hair for the first time and was actually proud of it. Since the news writer in me was not good at writing about my own feelings, I decided to try my hand at poetry. I started dancing again, and made playlists like love letters that maybe he’d read one day. I got excited to spend days alone, getting to re-know myself with

9

these pains that were now a part of me.

I wove in and out of depressive episodes. I got frustrated every time I’d fall back into one, feeling like nothing I was doing to move on was even working.

I added another note to my mirror: healing is not linear.

After the stay-at-home order was lifted, I started seeing two of my best friends again. With not much to do, we still managed to entertain ourselves.

We went on long drives and switched off who was on the aux, talking about each song’s meaning in our lives. We grabbed drinks at any 24-hour coffee stand and longboarded at sunset just to have deep talks. Their company and the pink skies made me smile again for the first time in months, taking in the good moments life still gave me.

Eventually, I got out of my creative rut and wrote two articles for The Daily.

I was so proud of them, and I jumped around my apartment in tears when they made the popular page. Working again reminded me of what I still have to offer this world, and what it has to offer me.

He has never left my thoughts, but

this new normal has had a way of making me much more aware of the moments that make me feel alive. He went into every piece of art I created, every small step of progress that pushed me forward. I found ways to fill the space he left behind.

My memory of him started to slowly come back, the good and the bad. I took it as a sign that I was healing.

The dream we created in the beginning didn’t last forever. It is often assumed that quarantine puts life on pause, but it has moved faster than ever for me. Our relationship flashed before our eyes, and it was too late before we realized reality had caught up to us. It felt so meant-to-be in any other time, except the one we were in.

Dating, love, and heartbreak are different now, and we all have to find new ways to navigate it. Healing for me is different too, but perhaps that’s the way it should have always been.

Reach writer Maya Tizon at pacificwave@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @mayaxcruzt

PAY WITH PURPLE AND GOLD. WIN WITH FEWER FEES. 5287 4912 3456 7891 VALID THRU

03/24

At BECU, we put Huskies first. That’s why we created the BECU UW Debit Mastercard. With free checking and access to over 30,000 surcharge-free ATMs, you’re always on the winning side.

Get the official card of Husky Nation at becu.org/uw.

LEE M. CARDHOLDER

Member Share Savings or Member Advantage Savings account required to establish membership. A checking account is required in order to obtain a debit Mastercard. Federally insured by NCUA. Visit becu.org for details.

10

The Daily - Back to School 2020

Roots to the rescue Can kava be the solution to stress?

Irik a

S

@ ha in

vi o guilty let

By Zoe Luderman Miller The Daily After surviving five (has it really only been five?) months in quarantine, while simultaneously riding the tsunami of American politics and struggling to find a way forward into an increasingly uncertain future, it probably comes as no surprise to anyone that I am straight-up not having a good time.

As it turns out, I am not alone.

In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), adults in the United States have reported significantly elevated incidence of mental health conditions and suicidal ideation during the coronavirus pandemic. The rise is most marked in communities of color, young adults, and essential workers.

Struggling with mental illness is difficult even in precedented times, and now, as every email we receive tells us, it seems we are stranded in unprecedented times. As someone with an anxiety disorder, the last five months have been challenging. Looking ahead to an unrecognizable school year, I’ve been searching for new ways to manage my anxiety.

I am an avid tea drinker, and I love to wind down with a cup at night.

Reading the label of one of my favorite soothing teas, one ingredient stood out from the others. In the midst of familiar favorites like lavender and chamomile, I noticed an herb called kava.

Kava is a plant native to the Pacific islands and is mainly cultivated in Hawaii, Fiji, Tonga, and Vanuatu. The root

and stump of the plant are ground and used to brew a drink that has naturally calming effects.

Internationally, kava products are banned in the United Kingdom and Canada on the grounds that they may be toxic to the liver. In 2001, the use of kava was linked to 24 instances of liver damage, and one death in Germany.

However, some researchers doubt that kava itself was truly to blame, instead citing bad cultivars of kava, or perhaps kava extracted using acetone.

Kava is a depressant, which is the same class of drugs as alcohol and Xanax. The active agents that give kava its soothing power are called kavalactones.

Kavalactones interact with the body to relax muscles and also act similarly to a topical anesthetic, creating a numbing sensation around the mouth of the drinker.

According to Kalm with Kava, a kava farm and supplier, studies show that kavalactones bind to receptors in the limbic system, the region of the brain associated with emotional responses.

The binding of kavalactones then helps to regulate feelings of anxiety, leading to a calming effect. While kava reduces fear and worry, it does so without impairing the user’s mental clarity, and it is non-addictive.

Kava has many cultural uses in the Pacific islands where it is grown, including as a substitute for alcohol in social situations, as a way to manage anxiety, and to help combat insomnia.

I already take Zoloft for anxiety and trazodone for insomnia. Despite this, I

still struggle to sleep, especially when I’m stressed out. Since my anxiety tends to be manageable throughout the day, I decided to test kava as a sleep aid.

As with any herbal remedy, kava can interact with prescription medications, especially other depressants and sleeping medications like Klonopin and Ambien, and it is important to consult a psychiatrist before mixing antidepressants with any herbal supplements.

After getting the go-ahead from my doctor, I decided to try kava instead of my usual sleeping medication to see if it was any more effective.

I ordered my kava online, from a Hawaiian herbal supplier, in the form of root powder, which can be chewed like gum or brewed into tea.

As a tea fiend, I decided to brew my kava rather than chewing it. Kava is most effective on an empty stomach, and it is recommended to drink it a half a cup at a time and wait 15–20 minutes between servings.

Following the traditional method of brewing kava, I used a piece of muslin cloth and tied a half a cup of kava into a small bag. I steeped the bag in lukewarm water for 10 minutes while kneading it with my knuckles to extract the kavalactones.

What I was left with was a bowl of muddy water that smelled almost overpoweringly earthy and a little sweet. I poured out my first half cup serving and sipped it.

Let me promise you — it tastes terrible. The most prominent flavor is “earthy,” but the aftertaste is bitter and oily. I drank it fast, and chased it with a glass of water.

Immediately after drinking my first cup, my lips and mouth went numb. The sensation is similar to the pins-and-needles feeling when your leg falls asleep.

Due to this effect, kava can also be used as a treatment for toothaches or canker sores. Within minutes, my whole body felt loose and relaxed, as if I had just stepped out of a long, warm bath.

Fifteen minutes later, I chugged my second cup. The second serving left me feeling slightly fuzzy all over, and even more calm.

Finish reading at dailyuw.com Reach writer Zoe Luderman Miller at pacificwave@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @ zozozaira

The Daily - Back to School 2020

11

The College Inn Pub: 46 years down, many more to go Thanks to its new stewards, this quintessential U-District pub might just survive the pandemic

By Estey Chen The Daily On July 23, the College Inn Pub’s Facebook account shared news of its ostensibly permanent closure, immediately prompting hundreds of comments from UW alumni young and old, long-time local regulars, and others whom the establishment touched throughout its 46-year run.

The suffocating sense of loss and helplessness triggered by the start of the pandemic made this closure feel like a punch in the gut — the pub was a central location in many people’s first tastes of independence and connection with a rapidly changing Seattle.

“I think the U-District got a little bit dimmer when that news came out,” Ian Paredes, one such commenter, said.

Leonisa Ardizzone waited tables at the

pub from 1991 to 1992, nearly two decades before Paredes began visiting, but echoed the same sentiment of the pub’s singularity.

“The ‘90s scene in Seattle was incomparable ... and a really cool time to be in Seattle,” Ardizzone said. “The pub was part of that. It was so multigenerational and vibrant that ... the idea of it closing was kind of heartbreaking.”

However, thanks to the new ownership team of Seattle restaurant and bar industry veteran Seth Howard, former non-profit director Jen Gonyer-Donohue, and attorney Al Donohue, longtime devotees and future UW students can expect to create many more memories at the College Inn Pub. Continue on pg. 12

GET WORLD-CLASS DENTAL CARE - RIGHT HERE ON CAMPUS The UW School of Dentistry, one of the world’s top dental schools, welcomes all Husky students for care. And we give you choices: Be treated by experienced faculty dentists. Or see one of our specialists. Or save money and stretch your insurance coverage in our teaching clinic. No matter what, you’ll get excellent care.

Whatever your dental needs, we’ve got you covered.

•Cleanings, exams, fillings •Braces and Invisalign® •Wisdom teeth •Urgent care •Root canals

•Whitening, veneers, onlays •Implants, crowns, bridges

We offer specialized care for people with special needs or disabilities, or medically complex conditions. We also treat orofacial pain, including temporomandibular joint and myofascial pain.

We’ve gone the extra mile for patient safety, too – new protective barriers, special air filters, and other measures to protect your health.

Great care. Safety. Convenience. That’s a winning Husky combination!

Call us for an appointment at 206-616-6996

For more information dental.washington.edu

12

The Daily - Back to School 2020

Irika Sinha @guiltyviolet Photos by Nicole Pasia @pasiaphoto Seth Howard and business partners, husband and wife Al Donohue and Jen Gonyer-Donohue, share a toast at the bar of College Inn Pub on September 1, 2020. The pubs is currently under renovation and will open once Washington state reaches phase three of its Coronavirus Response.

Juxtaposed with the sharp edges of neighboring Alder Hall and the new Hans Rosling Center for Population Health, the College Inn Pub reflects Seattle’s contradictions. Descending below the pub’s street-level entrance down a flight of dark stairs, unsuspecting students could find themselves greeted by a time machine in pub form. From the wooden booths with backs worn dull over decades of patrons communing over shared drinks, to the pool tables softly glowing under the dim lamp light, to the warmth of the open fire, the pub exuded the energy of a classic English pub: inviting and unpretentious.

In a sense, the College Inn Pub’s longevity is fitting given the company it shares. The College Inn Pub’s neighbor, The College Inn, and the building that houses them both have stood at the same spot since 1909, the year Seattle hosted the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition World’s Fair.

It’s no wonder, then, that within hours of former owners Shea Wilson and Anders Lorenson posting on Facebook, loyal patrons began eulogizing the pub across social media platforms.

News spread rapidly across the tight-knit network of UW alumni and Seattle residents, while the Stranger melodramatically declared that “The College Inn Pub Didn’t Survive the

Pandemic.” Eater Seattle and The Seattle Times followed with mentions of the “iconic,” “venerable” College Inn Pub in their reports of restaurant closures.

Eventually, the Facebook post amassed over 400 shares and 300 comments. Some mourned the loss to the U-District community and honored the pub’s memory by sharing personal stories, while a few feebly suggested crowdfunding to save it.

But that wasn’t enough for Gonyer-Donohue and Donohue, who began frequenting the pub as a couple in 1993 after Donohue discovered it with friend and roommate Seth Howard in 1989.

As Gonyer-Donohue and Donohue sat on their back patio, reflecting on memories created in that very basement, it struck them that an alternative path forward existed.

“We thought, ‘This is awful,’ and almost at the same time we said, ‘Well, maybe we should buy it,’” Donohue recalled.

“But not without Seth,” Gonyer-Donohue said.

Prior to beginning their respective professional careers, Gonyer-Donohue and Donohue spent long stretches working in the food service industry. Donohue worked both front- and back-of-house positions at places like Howard’s family’s Tratto-

The College Inn Pub has been a popular U District hub since its opening in the early 1970s

Co-owner Seth Howard prepares a drink at the bar of College Inn Pub on September 1, 2020.

The Daily - Back to School 2020

ria Mitchelli. Gonyer-Donohue similarly worked as a server and bartender at Trattoria Mitchelli and other Seattle establishments, including the College Inn Pub. Twenty-nine combined years working in and out of food service does not necessarily equate to sharp restaurant industry acumen, though. The two needed Howard’s expertise, honed from decades working for his family’s restaurants and 17 years of owning and operating his own popular businesses, like Pioneer Square’s Collin’s Pub and Roosevelt’s Last Drop Bottle Shop.

The three stayed in touch throughout the years, often meeting again at College Inn Pub to view Husky games.

Within 13 days of Howard agreeing to join their effort to save the pub, the team signed a lease and received the pub’s keys.

In all his years in the hospitality business, it was the fastest turnaround Howard had experienced.

If anything is for certain in the U-District, it’s uncertainty. The district is a microcosm of greater Seattle, a region that has always been at the forefront of national change, both welcome and unwelcome.

Impermanence is a given in a college neighborhood because of the revolving door of students, but change in the U-District seems exacerbated by the tech industry’s expansion and evolving student body demographics. Today, rows of Asian restaurants line the Ave, though even many of those enjoy short lifespans.

The Daily itself quipped in 2005, “Perhaps one of the most surprising new comers has been the Light Gourmet on 45th and University Way, which boasts a menu surprisingly void of anything Teriyaki or Thai.”

What was once a destination for teriyaki and Thai restaurants has since transformed into a hotspot for boba and regional Chinese, perhaps thanks to the influx of international students and the increased willingness of white Americans to embrace cuisines unfamiliar to them.

Despite the unpredictability of life on the Ave and short lifespans of many businesses, since opening its doors in 1974, the College Inn Pub has managed to buck the trend. Through its commitment to tradition and warm service, the pub has remained a fixture in multiple generations of Seattleites’ memories and UW students’ college experiences.

With its (as described by beer distributor Larry Rock) “great food and cutting edge beer selection,” the pub satisfied the minimum prerequisites to become a favorite neighborhood hangout.

Former doctoral students like Steven Schultz still swoon, two decades after leaving Seattle, at the thought of the crisp tortilla chips in the nachos: mildly tangy, melted colby jack; nutty black olives; slow-simmered black bean chili; sliced jalapenos; chopped tomatoes; and a dollop of cooling sour cream.

“I can’t tell you how many classes I skipped on a Monday for the half-priced nachos,” Donohue said, laughing at the memory.

More importantly, the College Inn Pub fostered a sense of camaraderie and community — which many have likened to the 1980s bar-sitcom “Cheers” — something not often encountered on the Ave. Between memories of after-hours games of darts and pool, former server Ardizzone recalled moments that felt pulled from the sitcom.

“So many bars are places where people get in your face or get nasty drunk, but the College Inn Pub just felt like you were in your living room,” Ardizzone said.

What made the College Inn Pub especially unique, however,

13

was its intensely intellectual, creative atmosphere. Professors often graded papers, and students, including Gonyer-Donohue, wrote portions of their dissertations while seated at booths.

The staff were no exception.

“Every single [staff member] is an artist in some capacity,” Shanna Washer, a bartender at the College Inn Pub from 2011 to 2020, said.

Washer is one of three poets on staff who have written manuscripts and gotten books published with work created in part or entirely at the pub.

It’s a credit to the leadership of the College Inn Pub. According to Washer, former owners Wilson and Lorenson made it the most humanizing place she had ever worked. “[Wilson and Lorenson let us] be ourselves and really use those things that are unique about us to connect to our patrons,” Washer said. “Folks got weirded out if you were perky all the time, [so] we got to have the full range of human emotions and make a lot of good friends out of our regulars.”

Then came 2020. In the beer world, everyone — pub owners, brewers, distributors, and bartenders — suffered.

All of which begs the question: why make this labor-intensive financial commitment when the odds seem stacked against you? The freedom of owning a restaurant sounds fun, but in practice, entails more work than most anticipate.

To the three new owners, the College Inn Pub was personal.

The thought of another buyer unfamiliar with its rich history destroying its defining qualities raised the stakes for Howard, Gonyer-Donohue, and Donohue. Thus, they proposed to preserve its community-centric ambiance with slight 21st century tweaks, distinguishing them from the 50 to 60 other buyer proposals.

“While we’re excited to do this, I think we all would’ve been happy if Shea [Wilson] and Anders [Lorenson] could’ve continued,” Donohue said. “We just didn’t want someone turning this into something else.

“The pub is bigger than us,” Gonyer-Donohue added.

“It’s an honor [to be the next stewards].”

When the pub reopens during phase three of the statewide reopening plan (whenever that happens), patrons can expect outdoor seating, a more open bar, improved paint and wood work, new lighting, a new audio and video system, and “gentle updates” to the beer and food offerings, all while keeping the look and feel the same.

“We want everyone to wear their masks, wash their hands, and stop going to parties so we can gather again safely,” Gonyer-Donohue said.

“We’re not going to rush this to open.”

But fear not, nacho devotees — those are here to stay.

Reach Pacific Wave assistant editor Estey Chen at pacificwave@dailyuw. com. Twitter: @esteychen

14

The Daily - Back to School 2020

Dating by major How their studies might affect a relationship

By Hannah Krieg The Daily I came to this university in part because of our world-renowned computer science program. Not because I have a passion for programming, but because I have a passion for marrying rich.

I would be lying if I said I had never

opted to study in Reboot Cafe over Parnassus. I’m pretty sure the coffee is the same, but you’re more likely to find a budding billionaire in the former.

I’m kidding. I am far more inclined to eat the rich than to romance them, and I don’t think you should limit your dating pool to people who will one day work for Amazon or Microsoft or some equally

dreadful corporation.

I also don’t think majors or departments are a monolith. Not all business majors wear 5.5-inch inseam shorts (unfortunately) and do body shots off girls in pre-nursing (fortunately). Not all gender, women & sexuality studies majors have blue hair and wear socks with their Birkenstocks. Not all communication majors are too dumb for other majors — that’s just me.

That being said, a person’s major should be considered in the pursuit of romantic or sexual relationships. Someone’s major can give insight to their schedule, values, and future path. (If you think I’m wrong and your major is extremely date-able: prove it. My Twitter is linked at the end of this article.)

Relationships are, by nature, a commitment of time and energy, which not everyone’s schedule allows.

For example, if someone is pre-science: Run. She does not have time for you. She is applying for computer science, then informatics, then computer engineering, and if all else fails, she’s transferring.

FOLLOW YOUR PATH WHEREVER IT MAY LEAD Learn more about undergraduate opportunities in Global Health.

globalhealth.washington.edu/undergrad

DEPARTMENT OF GLOBAL HEALTH

The Daily - Back to School 2020

15

This isn’t to say STEM is more stressful or time-consuming than other majors. Unless you’re cool cuddling your English major boyfriend while his face is wrongfully buried in a book, you may want to reconsider, even if he writes you somewhat pretentious love poems.

However, I am a firm believer that you can always make time for the things that matter to you. In most cases, people who care will find a way to prioritize you, even if they have an in-person lab three nights a week. (Side note: Never trust a Foster boy who can’t fit you into his schedule — they don’t have class on Fridays.)

Someone’s major can also be indicative of their values. It’s not as simple as an environmental sciences major having moral superiority over a chemical engineering major. For example, I once matched with someone who studies CHEM E, and he had no interest in becoming a petroleum engineer. Protecting the environment was his top priority — definitely a higher priority than me, since he only ever hit me up when he was drunk.

It’s important to know why someone chose the major they chose. Are they a theater major because they’re an attention seeker, or do they want to use performance to make the world a better place? Are they public health because they want to be rich or because they want to be part of reimagining health care in the United States? Are they studying business because their dad told them to or because they want to exploit the working class? I may have a bit of bias.

But just because you wouldn’t date them doesn’t mean you couldn’t hook up with them necessarily. Do I want to date someone in law, societies and justice? Absolutely not. They want to be paid to argue, and I’m a Libra. But if an LSJ hottie made a good case, I wouldn’t object to a short recess.

If you are looking for something long term, you can look at someone’s major as a preview for their future plans. If she’s pre-med, she’s got quite a bit of school ahead of her. If he’s studying journalism, he will not be buying you designer bags for your birthday. If they are studying

a language or culture, they may have plans to travel.

I don’t think it is always necessary or even wise to think too far ahead in relationships, but if you are nearing graduation, it may not be worth the trouble to get serious with someone whose future is incompatible with yours.

Regardless of who you choose to date — whether you are sleeping your way through the comparative literature department or find a geography major who becomes your whole world — you should be more concerned with your own studies. Pick a field of study that you feel passionate about and use the privilege that is going to college to make the world a better place. You are not in college to get your “Mrs.” That’s not a degree, and it will not get you a job (says the communication major).

Reach columnist Hannah Krieg at pacificwave@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @ Hannahkrieg

EVERY SIP SUPPORTS

E N V I R O N M E N TA L RESPONSIBILITY Starbucks is working to ensure the future of coffee for all. Our Farmer Support Centers provide open source agronomy to farmers around the world—offering free access to the latest research, advice, and tools to help them grow coffee more sustainably.

VISIT US ON CAMPUS

• Suzzallo Library FIND OUT MORE

sbux.co/sustainability

• The HUB

• Mobile Truck • Population Health Building Visit hfs.uw.edu/eat for details Opening in Winter © 2020 Starbucks Coffee Company.

16

The Daily - Back to School 2020

Remembering my great-grandparents in the form of oatmeal raisin cookies B

By Tatum Lindquist The Daily

As someone who regularly consumes oats in any and all forms, it’s no surprise I recently spent a sweltering afternoon in our sunlit kitchen making batches of delicious oatmeal raisin cookies, filling an otherwise empty day in quarantine.

Whether I am dancing to Lizzo as I mix the dry ingredients or playing Sushi Go with my family while the cookies are in the oven, baking has turned into a newfound creative avenue for me. Though it also pacifies my quarantine boredom, my favorite part of baking will always be licking the potentially dangerous raw oatmeal raisin cookie dough stuck to the spatula.

Controversial cookie choice, I know, but I first decided to bake oatmeal raisin cookies because they reminded me of the summers I spent at my great-grandparents’ house growing up.

My brother and I typically spent summers visiting their white house, a quaint home built by my great-grandpa in the 50s tucked in a rolling green pasture. We’d crowd the kitchen counter in the two breakfast stools, swiveling to and fro as my great-grandma got out all the ingredients. I remember my great-grandma showing me how to level measuring cups with a knife and wearing one of her hand-sewn aprons, which in no way fit me as a kid. We’d play cards and talk as we waited for the cookies to bake, and with 30 seconds and no patience left, I’d cozy up next to the oven with the light on to watch our hard work rise into soft pillows of yumminess.

With the passing of my great-grandpa last autumn and the public health necessity to stay home, this past summer felt especially isolating. However, by preheating the oven and folding raisins and oats into cookie dough, I can relive those summers while stuck at home in quarantine.

Since it’s not safe to visit and connect with my great-grandma in person, my blossoming baking hobby has filled me with the same energy and warmth that I remember from her kitchen. Through the process, I have learned to find the joy that comes in the form of warm, homemade oatmeal raisin cookies, filling these past endless summer days.

Over time, the oatmeal raisin cookies gave way to crêpes, chicken pot pie, or the next Instagram cooking challenge for my siblings and I to bond over. Before, I rarely baked, and only because I desired the delicious end result. But now, with an abundance of free time and a desire to connect with my great-grandma, baking has filled the isolation in my heart and stomach with warm, loving goodness.

Reach writer Tatum Lindquist at pacificwave@dailyuw.com.

Twitter: @TatumLindquist.

Ingredients ¾ cup butter, softened ¾ cup white sugar ¾ cup packed light brown sugar 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 ¼ cup flour 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg ½ teaspoon salt 2 ¾ cups rolled oats 1 cup raisins 1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

2) In a large bowl, cream the butter and both white and brown-sugar together until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

3) Gradually beat the dry ingredients into butter mixture.

Stir in oats and raisins.

4) Drop dough onto ungreased cookie sheets.

5) Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.

6) Let cookies cool slightly on the sheet before moving them to a wire rack to cook completely.

17

The Daily - Back to School 2020

M

ilo

Ng uye

n@ silver

koolaid

WHERE WILL NEAR EASTERN LANGUAGES & CIVILIZATION TAKE YOU? AUTUMN 2019 COURSE OPTIONS INCLUDE: NEAR E 101 NEAR E 287 NEAR E 301 NEAR E 337 ARAB 101 MODHEB 101 PRSAN 101 TKISH 101

Gateway to the Near East (I&S, VLPA) Near East in Song: Isreal and Popular Music (VLPA) Art of The Ancient Near East (VLPA) Egyptian Cinema: Glamour on the Nile (VLPA) Elementary Arabic (VLPA*) Elementary Modern Hebrew (VLPA*) Elementary Persian (VLPA*) Elementary Turkish (VLPA*)

ACTS 2F (VLPA*) Completion of 101/102/103 cycle of a foreign language may qualify you for 15 VLPA credits. Contact our academic advisor at nelcua@uw.edu for more information.

Major requires 72 NELC credits. Minor requires 30 NELC credits.

DISCOVER WHERE YOU MIGHT GO Students have gone on to work at Amazon, New York Times, Microsoft, Boeing, USMC, Human Rights Watch, US Department of State, and more. www.nelc.washington.edu

The Daily - Back to School 2020

18

Milo Nguyen @silverkoolaid

Milo Nguyen @silerkoolaid

Why I decided to ruin my own social life

By McKenna Zacher The Daily In early July, my family went on a camping trip to Eastern Washington. It was the first time we were able to get away from home since March and we were excited to have a change of scenery and get outdoors. My brother and I stayed for a few days but drove home a week before my parents ended their trip.

The week without my parents went well; we chugged away at our work and kept the house in order.

But that quickly changed.

The day my parents were set to be home, I got a call. It was from my mom.

From the tears I heard through the phone, I immediately knew something was wrong.

I assumed something happened to one of our dogs, who are notoriously clumsy and mischievous. But that wasn’t it. All too soon, I was thrust back to a moment in November.

I was in my dorm, sleeping. My first round of midterms of my freshman year was quickly approaching and I needed all the energy I could get. My slumber was interrupted by a call. I answered the call, annoyed that I was awoken so

early. That annoyance quickly changed as my mom spoke.

“Hi, honey. Everything is OK, but your dad is in the hospital,” she said.

What? What happened? Did he get into a car crash? Did he fall? My worries about midterms quickly melted away and the worry shifted to a new reality — a reality that was much worse.

My dad had kidney failure and his body went into shock. Thankfully, my mom found him on the floor and was able to get him to the hospital before it was too late (a timeline that was uncomfortably close and hard to think about). He was stable, in the intensive care unit, and tests were showing that the road to recovery was going to be long and hard.

I couldn’t help but feel useless. I wasn’t home, and I hadn’t been in a long time. Should I skip midterms and go home? When was the last time I had told him I loved him? I couldn’t help but constantly mull over these anxious thoughts.

The next day, I took the train home.

I saw my dad, weak and small, in the hospital for the first time in what would be a monthlong stay. That November

was the scariest time of my life, and it didn’t help that I was apart from my family during it.

My mom’s call in July seemed immediately worse. I was home this time; they were not. Through tears, my mom explained that while they were driving home, something happened to my dad.

It wasn’t clear what it was. As soon as she called me to let me know, she hung up.

Immediately, I wanted to drive to the hospital and be able to see my dad — earlier than the last time. But I couldn’t.

Not just because he was in Yakima, three hours away, but because of the pandemic. No one could see him. Instead, he was alone.

In the following days, we found out what happened. My dad had had a seizure and a heart attack. He was alone and in pain, but no one could be there to comfort him.

My dad finally came home after a week alone in the hospital halfway across the state. He was extremely weak, and it was clear that if COVID wasn’t taking over the health care system and using up resources and beds,

The Daily - Back to School 2020

he would likely still be in the hospital.

It came to light that his immune system was weak and that he fractured his back, meaning that his care was critical.

In the following days, my brother, my mom, and I sat down for a family meeting. We talked about how we needed to socially distance as well as we did back in March, sharply limiting who we would see and where we would go, in order to protect my dad’s health.

Suddenly, I was rethinking all of my movements in the last two weeks. On the Fourth of July, I was with a group of six, not social distancing how I should have been. Something I scarcely thought about at the time was now making me think that I could have killed my dad when I gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek as he slept the first night he was home.

From then on, I have had to make a lot of hard decisions. I signed away my lease in Seattle, deciding that I needed to be away from any environments where a COVID outbreak could occur so that I could be home without endangering my family. I’ve had to isolate myself from my friends, who aren’t social dis-

tancing. And I have spent a lot of time grieving the loss of friendships, outings, and social life. But ultimately, I would much rather have my dad be alive than go to a kickback.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s frustrating. I spent months looking for a place to live, planning what furniture I could upcycle, talking with my roommates about appliances, and even paying a down payment of $2,000.

I want independence, I want to see my friends, I want to travel, I want to go to school. But I can’t. And I won’t be able to until this pandemic is over.

My dad is now recovering well, but like many of my peers’ parents, he remains at high risk for a bad outcome from COVID. It’s challenging to see my peers, and even my friends, partying or hanging out with different people all the time. I know it’s hard to be isolated; I’d much rather be out and about too. But, when I see others go out all the time and not be responsible, it’s disheartening.

It’s the worst type of jealousy — it feels like while I’m doing all the hard work, others who are engaging in more risky behaviors are putting us two steps

19

backward again. They don’t understand the impact it can have, even apart from the actual illness, like mental health struggles or social isolation. Not to mention that even healthy young people can have bad COVID outcomes.

Don’t just think about the effects COVID-19 could have on “old people” — recognize that even your parents can be at high risk. I’ve had to isolate myself from my social circle, and it feels like I’m being forgotten about because I’m trying to keep myself or someone else safe.

This pandemic seems to have no end in sight, at least for the near future.

America’s massive failure in containing the pandemic comes down to the fault of the government and systems, not us. But where the government failed, we can step in and help reduce the spread of the virus.

As colleges reopen and students return to campus for the school year, it’s more important than ever to remember the impact of this pandemic. Remember that it doesn’t just have an effect on those who have it.

Reach writer McKenna Zacher at pacificwave@ dailyuw.com Twitter: @mckennazacher

CALLING ALL SENIORS! SENIOR CLASS GIFT COUNCIL

Join the Class of 2021 Senior Class Gift Council. You will have the chance to decide how your graduating class will leave a mark on UW for years to come.

Learn more at our Intro to SCG meeting on

MONDAY, OCTOBER 12 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Via Zoom

Please RSVP by emailing uwscg@uw.edu.

At Cross & Crown Church we believe Jesus Changes Everything.

Come join us for our sermon series in Romans. crossandcrownseattle.com

20

Back-to-school essentials A complete guide on how to figure out ‘rona testing in Seattle

By Martina Povolo The Daily In case you forgot, we’re in the middle of a pandemic.

So, if you’re an essential worker or just hanging in groups of five, do yourself (and everyone around you) a favor and get tested. Luckily, all you need to get tested is access to the internet and a car, or a friend who has a car.

I have found from my firsthand research, having gotten tested thrice this summer, that it is incredibly simple, yet the information is hard to navigate. Let’s break it down.

There are two types of COVID-19 tests that can be administered: a viral test and an antibody test. The viral test tells you if you are infected at the moment, and the antibody test tells you if you’ve had coronavirus in the past. The former is more widely available and most accurate as to whether you currently have COVID-19.

My first mistake when I started researching how to get tested was looking up “where to get tested for coronavirus in Seattle” on Google. I landed on a compilation of testing centers laid out on a map, with a checklist of three items to consider when testing: whether an appointment was required, whether a referral was required, and whether testing was available to all patients or only those who showed symptoms.

If you’re like me and you have no symptoms, no referral, don’t mind scheduling an appointment, and are just trying to get tested to be safer this summer, then this list is no help.

I called at least seven testing centers and was met with no fitting criteria. It wasn’t until I landed on seattle.gov itself that I found actual advice.

The City of Seattle’s official website lays out the three things that actually matter when getting tested: scheduling a test, visiting the test center, and getting your results. This website also features ADA accessibility coordinator information and other alternative testing sites.

King County has two free testing centers that are open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., located in Aurora and in SODO. Having been to both, I can assure you that they are exactly the same. Both have a drive-thru, are faster if you make an appointment, and allow walk-ins.

After you decide which location is closer to you, click on the button to register, and you will be taken to a UW Medicine website called Solv that makes booking your appointment easy.

The fun part begins when you arrive at the testing center.

Whether or not you have an appointment, you drive up to the testing center, and someone in a safety vest will direct you to drive up to one of the lines of cars. You scan a barcode with your phone and digitally enter your name, date of birth, and health insurance.

Health insurance is not required; the testing sites are free regardless of insurance.

Once you make your way to the first stop, you are handed a

The Daily - Back to School 2020

vial with your name and date of birth on it and are told to give it to the next person.

Think of it like a fast-food drive-thru, except they give you a cup at the first window and fill it up at the second one.

Once you get all the way to the last stop in the front of the line and return the vial, the test is administered. I’m not going to sugarcoat it: It’s not fun.

At these sites, they stick an extra-long cotton swab into your nose for 10 to 15 seconds, and it feels like they’re tickling your brain. Your eyes will water, but you will be prepared because they give you a tissue beforehand. Then — and this is arguably the worst part — they do it to the other nostril, too.

Remember, although it is uncomfortable for a total of 30 seconds, it is worth it in the long run. Getting tested is a privilege and should be utilized in order to keep this city safe.

Result times vary. I’ve gotten my results back on the same day, but I’ve also had to wait over 72 hours. If you test negative, continue abiding by phase two guidelines.

If you test positive, you will receive a call. The call outlines what your next steps would look like and how to self-quarantine.

The CDC revised its COVID-19 guidelines July 17: “Except for rare situations, a test-based strategy is no longer recommended to determine when an individual with SARS-CoV-2 infection is no longer infectious.”

The CDC now recommends a symptoms-based recovery plan, where you track your symptoms with their specified guidelines before discontinuing isolation and other transmission precautions.

Continue reading at dailyuw.com Reach writer Martina Povolo at pacificwave@dailyuw.com.

Twitter: @martinapovolo

Tom Mikolyuk The Daily

The Daily - Back to School 2020

21

Ambiguous loss How to face the enormity of our current grief

By Charlotte Houston The Daily Grief is an emotion I barely know. I don’t mean that as a brag; instead, I feel cowed by its looming eventuality and intimidated by its presence in others. Since I’ve never been there, I don’t know how to treat those who are experiencing it.

The United States’ poor response to the virus has made us a leader in coronavirus deaths, accounting for 21% of worldwide deaths related to COVID-19 while only making up 4% of the world’s population.

That, added to the ongoing trail of murders by police officers, deaths of protesters at home and afar, and wildfire season gearing up, the list of awful things that we’re constantly aware of goes on and on.

I don’t need to tell you. The likelihood that we or people we know have been or will be touched by loss right now is high.

That’s why I wanted to face grief and attempt to understand it, so I can help

others through it or recognize it in myself when it comes.

What is grief?

I attended the webinar “Ambiguous Loss: Grieving in the Time of COVID-19,” hosted by Charlene Ray, a licensed social worker and grief counselor, in order to understand what she termed the “global grief pandemic.”

After classes got cancelled in March, when my roommate and I were deciding whether we should leave Seattle and go back home, we must’ve made almost 10 entirely different, thought-out plans in the course of three days. I inexplicably burst into tears at the kitchen table and lashed out at my roommates over small things.

As Ray described common signs of grief — trouble making decisions, irritability, exhaustion or fatigue, confusion,

6869 Woodlawn Ave NE Seattle, WA 98115 Located in Greenlake www.counselingwellbeing.com Insurance Accepted! Call Today!

206-242-8211

numbness, physical aches and pains, and immovable sadness — I began to recognize my emotional state when the reality of the pandemic began to set in.

A form of grief Ray discussed as being especially relevant right now is “ambiguous loss,” which occurs when the loss is unclear and inexact, defying closure.

For example, a family member who is mentally no longer present but still alive would be an ambiguous loss. In these scenarios, the future is unknown, and we may feel stuck in a limbo. Oftentimes, people will respond to ambiguous loss by attempting to control the small parts of lives that they can.

Both the continuing pandemic and the reality of police brutality feel inescapable and unending. It’s hard to look forward to brighter days when we have no idea when there will be an end to this seven-month nightmarish news cycle.

There are also the well-known stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

Ray asserted, however, that these may not occur in a certain order, and you may make it through one stage and then be

22

The Daily - Back to School 2020

Vivian Mak @vivanlmak

back in it a week later. The progression through the feelings is nonlinear.

In terms of the pandemic, I’m sure we all remember the stage of denial, when we all were telling ourselves that the flu kills many more people every year, and we remember the anger when everything got cancelled.

However, Ray reframed this experience by saying that, as grief is a response to losing something or someone that we love, it is also a reminder of that love.

“Grief is a form of gratitude for being alive. We have grief when we lose something we love,” she said.

To that end, she suggested writing out a list of the things you have lost.

You don’t have to see it as ruminating or dwelling on the negative. Instead, think of it as a way to honor those parts of life that are important to you. According to Ray, letting those feelings of loss go unacknowledged can actually lead to something called “unmetabolized grief,” which is when unexpressed grief comes to the surface as a physical symptom, like headaches or body pain.

It’s likely, as we shift back into another quarter of online school, that we’ll experience a resurgence of sadness for the things we’re missing out on. For me, this is my last quarter at the UW, and even though it felt silly, I found myself crying when I rode my bike through campus over the summer, knowing my time in that space was over seven months ago, that I had my last in-person class without even knowing it. This, I guess, was a remnant of that grief still moving through me.

How do you support someone experiencing grief?

Grief can sometimes make a person unreachable or unrecognizable.

In her book “The Year of Magical Thinking,” Joan Didion explores the complicated landscape of grief in the aftermath of her husband’s death. This book opened me up to one of the most important lessons when dealing with a friend who is going through something you cannot understand: do not personalize their response to it.

Didion writes, “although the knowledge that their friends love them and sorrow for them is great solace … none have the right to feel hurt if they are told that they can neither be of use nor received.

At such a time, to some people companionship is a comfort, others shrink from their dearest friends.”

Essentially, it’s not about you. If they don’t want to see you or if they offend you in some way, you must not take that as a personal offense, but instead make space to hold them through it.

Ray asserted that grief is not something that can be “fixed.”

“You never get over grief; you learn how to live with it,” she said during the webinar.

You can’t take it away from someone; there’s no perfect word of advice that will ease their suffering. Ray asserted that we all need someone who will sit with us and not try to fix us.

The necessity of mourning While grief is what the inward experience of loss is called, mourning, on the other hand, is the outward expression of that. For some people that means crying, gathering at a funeral or memorial, or participating in other cultural rituals.

Mourning is essential, according to Ray, so we don’t get “stuck” in grief.

However, due to the nature of the pandemic, many of these collective rituals of mourning have been off limits. We can’t

gather or support each other physically; funerals have had to be reduced to small gatherings, if allowed at all; and houses of worship are one of the riskiest venues for virus transmission.

And how does one formally mourn a cancelled wedding or the inability to see one’s family for the foreseeable future?

Are we even comfortable calling our reaction to that grief?

In the months-long protests beginning with the killing of George Floyd, punctuated by long marches and cries for justice, I think there is a picture to be painted of a very powerful expression of grief. In the 28-day-long (at the time of writing) art installation put on by the UW BLM chapter at the George Washington statue, demanding its removal, I think we can see evidence of how grief calls us to action.

“Working with our grief and not letting it get stuck is suicide prevention,” Ray said.

No loss is the same, but unless you’re still firmly holding out in the denial stage, I think it’s safe to say we have all experienced it in some way. In April, I felt like getting up in the morning was completely pointless. Naming that feeling as grief has allowed me to work through some of the sadness and disappointment these last seven months have brought.

“We all love, so we all grieve,” Ray said.

Grief right now is a reminder of how joyful and full life once was. As the year continues to unfold, attempt to honor your loss without comparing it to the grief of others.

Reach Pacific Wave Co-Editor Charlotte Houston at pacificwave@dailyuw.com.

Twitter: @lilgarlicclove

23

The Daily - Back to School 2020

Students are teachers, too

Greta DuBois @greta.a_art

How student-teachers adapt to online classes

By Andy Chia The Daily

When the UW announced fall quarter was going to be primarily online, the First-year Interest Group (FIG) leaders in our training class were unusually silent. Our instructors asked us if we had any questions. None of us said anything, but in our Zoom breakout sections, all of us were talking nonstop about doubts we had for teaching this fall.

This fear of the unknown is an emotion that I think instructors all over the nation are experiencing. But for student-teachers, this is a unique fear.

FIGs are organized by First Year Programs (FYP) with schedules specifically curated for first-year students and their potential interests, which typically consist of up to three classes.

Alongside these classes, FIG students take GEN ST 199, “The University Community,” which is taught by FIG leaders like me.

What makes FIG leaders unique is that we are all undergraduates recruited every year by FYP and trained throughout spring quarter. By fall quarter, we have lesson plans and basic educational training that will hopefully get us ready to go for Husky Kick-Off and the next two and a half months of class.

Being a FIG leader can be an overwhelming position during a normal year as it’s usually their first time being in charge of a classroom.

Despite being online, I find that I’m still learning the same

lessons from teaching.

I started as a FIG leader in 2018. Unsure about how effective I was as an instructor, I remember feeling overwhelmed: awkward pauses during my lectures, scrambling for lesson plans, and worrying about what I should teach. To say that I felt incompetent would be an understatement.

To compensate for these insecurities, I would spend at least an hour going over what I should do for my class that week.

I would look at self-help articles from veteran teachers and professors. I thought that I could never reach the point where I would feel comfortable in teaching.

Continue reading at dailyuw.com Reach writer Andy Chia at pacificwave@uw.edu. Twitter: @ GreatBaconBaron.

AVAILABLE NOW! 1302 NE 52nd St Only 2 brand new 9 bedroom units left!

Rent: $6,300 per month Security Deposit : $3,000 12 month lease Contact Jeff@marathonpropmgmt.com for more information Other UW Area houses also available

24

The Daily - Back to School 2020

College students: hey!

Try Prime for 6 months, no cost to you amazon.com/UofWashington