The Gatepost Editorial Board
With feelings of uncertainty looming as we trek forward through the coronavirus pandemic, it’s
important to take a step back to see that we are not alone.
Just as you may feel isolated and hopeless during the stay-at-home advisory, many others, including
ourselves, are hurting just the same.
It’s spring, and summer is just around the corner. We all want to hang out with friends, relax in front of May Hall, and have good times together as the weather gets nicer. But we can’t – we all have an important role to play by staying home during these confusing times.
But this doesn’t mean we are no longer a community. Even though we’ve moved away from campus and can’t meet face-to-face anymore, there are still ways to keep ourselves connected as a fRAMily.
Our Student Involvement and Leadership Development office has been working on ways to help clubs and student organizations continue to hold meetings virtually and the University itself will still hold events for us to log into throughout the rest of the semester.
In the coming weeks, you can expect to see the McAuliffe Center begin hosting virtual events as well.
Center staff have also been hard at work moving many of their offerings online for you to enjoy while at home.
We encourage you to join in these meetings and participate in these events in between Netflix binges and course work.
Our University also provides many outstanding resources to help you remotely as we all move through these troubling times.
For those needing help and clarity regarding their mental health, the Counseling Center can still be reached at 508-626-4640 for therapy sessions by phone. Their office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Otherwise known as tele-therapy, this allows those who would normally attend sessions to still do so, while remaining safely at home.
The Health and Wellness Center can also be reached at 508-626-4900 for telehealth consultations. With telehealth, the Center can help students in need by answering non-urgent medical questions and refilling prescribed medications. Their hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
If you are in need academically, CASA will still provide help through online portals, such as their website or Blackboard tab. You can still get professional help from math and writing tutors among others.
At the center of all of this is IT Services, which is working hard to ensure these online portals all function as intended. Without them, we would not have services such as Blackboard Collaborate Ultra to continue our class meetings.
We must applaud all of our professors and instructors for completely revising their syllabi halfway through the semester to confront this new world of remote learning.
Without their dedication to our education, we would not be able to finish off the courses we love and have invested our time into since January.
Our administrators, who have been meeting daily at 8:30 a.m. to discuss and recommend solutions to the challenges we’ve come to face today, also deserve a round of applause.
Their commitment to ensuring our University continues on as normal as possible is admirable, and their quickness in updating our community is greatly appreciated.
We must also recognize ourselves as students who have been thrown into this unusual reality, but continue to move ahead as we look forward to seeing each other again at commencement once the virus finally ends.
Seniors, we see you and we hurt for you. We know this abrupt change is not how you imagined your last semester of college to go.
We wish nothing more than for you to have your final sports games, theatre productions, and club meetings.
Although this can no longer happen, know that those around you support you in your last weeks at FSU, and your dedication to our community the last four years will be remembered.
As this pandemic pushes us deeper into confinement, we must remember that we are strong, but even stronger together.
We must join together to push through the remainder of the semester.
Check in on your friends, classmates, and professors. We are all going through the same experiences, and hearing a friendly voice could make someone’s day.
Video call with teammates, club officers, and colleagues. They may be longing for a familiar interaction just as you are.
As we move forward into the remainder of our semester, remember this: no matter the difficulties we face ahead, we will push through, succeed, and continue to be a family.