The Article below was published in Vol. 137, Issue 1 of the Lake Forest College Stentor on September 17, 2021.
By Sergio Bardesi-Texocotitla ’22
A&E Editor and Chive Editor
Returning to campus is an exciting, yet somewhat dreadful, change of pace! For some students, they have been on campus since Spring ’21. For many students, such as the first-years, they are attending Lake Forest College in-person for the first time. Yet others have not been able to learn on campus for one and a half years. Edwin Sanchez-Rodriguez ’23, who experienced the latter wait, said “[his] last time coming to LFC was [Spring] 2020 right before [M]arch when the pandemic was in full swing.” Then, in Spring ’21, students had the option of living on-campus or commuting. “For [his] sophomore year [he] opted to do…online learning and [to] stay off campus entirely.”
The guidelines for Fall ’21 seemed rather promising, but the administration provided two updates throughout August. The original Lake Forest College Plan for Fall 2021 Semester in Response to Coronavirus (linked here: https://www.lakeforest.edu/Public/Administration/covid%20dashboard/Fall%202021%20COVID%20Precautions.pdf) is thoroughly constructed: “students, faculty, and staff are required” to comply with “current CDC guidelines”; contact tracing remains in place; quarantine measures remain in place for those who get infected. However, the plan specifically noted that the College remains ready to “pivot” at any time.
Due to the Delta variant, a recent COVID-19 mutation, there was a surge in COVID-19 cases during summer where Lake Forest College was forced to make changes to its plan. The first update came on August 13, and the second followed suit on August 27. The August 13 update states: “Effective immediately, all students, faculty, staff, and visitors – regardless of vaccination status – are required to wear mask indoors on campus,” with a few exceptions (“residence hall bedrooms…faculty and staff offices…dining hall while actively eating…[and] outdoors”).
The August 27 update addressed mandates from Illinois government, such as Gov. Pritzker’s “vaccine requirement for all employees of educational institutions (Kindergarten through College)” (underlining in original) and “an indoor mask mandate for the State of Illinois” (underlining in original). The College also reestablished the COVID-19 Dashboard with weekly updates on active cases in the Lake Forest College community (https://www.lakeforest.edu/about-us/administration/covid-19-information/covid-19-dashboard). They will also “test (i) all unvaccinated students, faculty, and staff; (ii) any vaccinated student, faculty, or staff member who is symptomatic; and (iii) anyone found through contact tracing to have had close contact with a positive individual.”
Sanchez-Rodriguez said “LFC was fast, swift, and strict on COVID protocols such as required vaccinations [for faculty] and the usage of masks while indoors. I believe the rest falls on students to [stay] aware of their symptoms, [to stay] away from super spreader events, and [to wear] a mask when indoors.” While his comments align with the expectations of campus members, “[he does] wish we had more cleaning bottles around campus to clean tables, chairs [or] light switches that are frequently touched by students.”
When three students, two professors and one staff member were asked about the return to in-person learning and the College’s COVID-19 policies, their responses were largely optimistic. Max Stock ’24 thinks that there “could be a bit more emphasis on social distancing especially as illnesses begin to circulate…[in] winter months.”
In response to the same question, another student, who wished to be anonymous, said that “[m]any students are not obligated to participate in regular COVID-19 testing. This is a problem. You could have asymptotic students potentially exposing other students and nobody would even know until someone falls ill. Even biweekly or random testing could make a difference.”
Associate Professor and Chair of the Religion Department Ben Zeller and Associate Professor and Chair of the Sociology and Anthropology Department Todd Beer shared similar responses when asked about the College’s COVID-19 precautions. “We’re doing everything right,” Zeller said. “Vaccination and masking are the best things we can do. I’m proud that the faculty is nearly 99% vaccinated. The students aren’t far behind. And everyone seems to be following the masking requirements indoors. It’s annoying, but it is keeping us all safe.”
Professor Beer continued this train of thought in a separate comment. “I feel like, in the end, the vast majority, if not all the policies, demonstrated that the College’s priority was student, staff, and faculty health and safety,” he said.
According to the Fall 2021 plan, the faculty serve as role models for proper behavior whilst students are expected to follow these guidelines. Of course, guidelines serve to inform and guide the choices of the on-campus population. But how well are students behaving themselves in accordance with these rules? “The students have been very compliant with the mask mandate,” Beer said. “I have classes full of seniors and classes full of first-year students. They are all complying.”
“I am proud of the respect and care that [LFC community] members… have shown each other in masking up and getting vaccinated,” Zeller said.
In examining this particular question, Leslie Alvarez, a staff member that works as a barista in the library’s café, provides an additional perspective: “The students…are very patient, especially now that we don’t have [enough] staff… They take precaution. They come with their face masks.”
Alvarez has worked at the College for nearly 16 years. When asked if she was worried about returning to work this previous semester, she recalled, “No, but my husband was. He didn’t want me to get sick.” Overall, she is happy to be working again and enjoys talking to the students, who she has noticed “are very stressed, so they like to talk to [her] and they like to vent. And [she doesn’t] have a problem with that.”
Similarly, the students and professors are very excited. Stock said “[he] look[s] forward to meeting people, making new friends, and being back in a classroom after a year and a half.” Each of the students acknowledged the limitations placed on social interactions by the screens and microphones, and generally agree that being in-person will have a positive impact on their study habits and social ventures. The anonymous student hopes that there will be “COVID-19 conscious events.”
Professor Beer has not taught in nearly two years because he started his sabbatical in May 2019, so he faced a “big readjustment” when he began to teach in-person this semester. “Teaching is significantly better when you can feel the energy in a room as students become engaged in a topic. That was much more difficult to perceive over Zoom. Enthusiasm is reciprocal, so while I try to bring it to every class, it also helps me to sense students’ excitement.”
Professor Zeller shares this excitement, describing, “My students couldn’t see it, since I was… masked, but I had a big smile on my face the first day of class. Being able to teach in a classroom, with a chalkboard, with students talking to each other and to me without needing to raise digital hands or unmute, and with the computer actually turned off[.] [T]hat was something I had really missed… something special happens in the classroom when people come together in person to share ideas.”
