The Article below was published in Vol. 136, Issue 7 of the Lake Forest College Stentor on April 2, 2021.
Emma Overton ’21
Editor-in-Chief and News Editor
Owing to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Lake Forest College has welcomed back a portion of its students, faculty, and staff for the Spring 2021 semester while other members of the campus community continue to work or learn remotely. While Lake Forest College’s COVID-19 case numbers were low enough to allow for the recent transition to Phase 3 of the Plan on March 25, nationwide, COVID-19 case numbers are on the rise. According to The New York Times, over the week of March 22–26, “there [was] an average of 65,382 cases per day, an increase of 19 percent from the average two weeks earlier.” However, the number of vaccinated individuals is also increasing, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting that 15 percent of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated as of March 29. As of March 31, Lake Forest College’s COVID-19 Dashboard is reporting one positive student test, zero positive employee tests, and a positivity rate of 0.09 percent for the week of March 22-28.
Stentor staff spoke with Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Andrea Conner about the College’s current COVID-19 response, plans for the Fall 2021 semester, and information about the COVID-19 vaccine. When asked about the College’s current response to the pandemic at the middle of the semester, Conner noted that “[t]he College’s systems and protocols are going smoothly. By and large, the students are doing a great job upholding the expectations in the Forester Commitment. To ensure a successful finish to the semester, everyone needs to continue to work together, stay vigilant, and take care of themselves and each other in all the ways we’ve committed to. We can get through these challenges together.”
Looking ahead to the Fall 2021 semester, Conner explained that “the College has begun initial planning for Fall 2021[.] The Curricular Policies Committee and College leadership are discussing modalities of teaching and learning. And we have already begun the housing selection process, which is structured under the assumption that we will be back to our typical occupancy, following the typical residency requirements.” However, despite these plans, Conner noted that “[o]f course, all plans are subject to change.”
For students like Sydney Johnson ’22, Alex Cantey ’22, and Laurel Robbins ’23, who have learned remotely during the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters, Conner’s information about increasing on-campus housing for Fall 2021 was welcome news. Johnson shared that while she is “glad to be living with [her] family in Arizona with great weather,” it has been “hard to see all [her] friends and peers living on campus too.” She continued, stating, “I am definitely looking forward to on campus learning in the fall, because I will feel a lot more comfortable coming back to campus. I have also been away from campus for over a year, and it will be nice to get back!”
Cantey agreed, noting that learning remotely from her home in Arkansas has “been more difficult for sure since it’s harder to feel motivated and having to also deal with family and home stuff.” Cantey is “really looking forward to being on campus in the fall,” and shared that she “miss[es] [her] friends and the lib[rary] so much [and] [has] really missed getting to see professors in person.” Robbins echoed Cantey, stating that she is “looking forward to living on campus next fall because I’ve been missing all of the lab experience in my current classes…college is just a lot of fun when you get to live on campus. I miss the little things like seeing a friend in the caf or walking to and from your classes in the morning.”
Conner also shared information about the COVID-19 vaccine, noting that “[t]he Biden administration has indicated that states should open eligibility to all adults by May 1. Then, the trick might be finding vaccine appointments. By that time, though, we’ll have a much better sense of the distribution of vaccines and where supplies are available.” While no on-campus vaccine clinic currently exists, Conner stated that “the College is exploring whether there are any opportunities to make vaccines available on campus.”
Additionally, despite the announcement on March 25 from Rutgers University in New Jersey that the school “will require the COVID-19 vaccine for students who are enrolled for the 2021 fall semester,” Conner stated that Lake Forest College “has not made a final decision about requiring the vaccine; more research needs to be done.” Commenting on the COVID-19 vaccine, Cantey shared that she was going to receive her first vaccination on March 29, and that she was “very excited to be vaccinated.” Johnson stated that because vaccine appointments were recently opened to the “general public here in Arizona,” she received her vaccine, a measure that Johnson feels “will help me to feel more safe returning to campus.” Robbins agreed, noting that she is “excited to be fully vaccinated because then life can be a little more normal.”
