At Whitman we’ve faced a sudden uptick in the number of COVID-19 cases on campus, from 0 to 4, in the wake of two large student gatherings off campus. I asked if we should make a departmental plea for judiciousness, and my colleague John stepped up to the plate. I’m grateful. What he wrote is perfect, as I knew it would be from the email he wrote at the start of the pandemic.

John has given me permission to share his email below. Hopefully this is the last such needed for a while.

Hello, all.

Over a year ago, I emailed you just as we were ending in-person classes in the face of an unknown pandemic. We had no idea how deeply or now long the world around us would be affected. I asked you all to have hope, to take care of yourselves, and if possible, take care of some people around you, too. [1]

Since then, things have been hard. National statistics aside, even the indirect costs of COVID-19 have been intense. 90% of the things I remembered enjoying in college are on hold for our students this year. This year’s capstone teams got to meet with me in person exactly zero times. People have been isolated from family and friends. It’s long past time for this to end, and here in the U.S., that ending is thankfully imminent, where nearly every adult who wants to be protected from the virus can get a vaccine that makes normal life as safe as, well, normal.

But we’re not there yet. It’s not fair that students will have to finish the semester before enough people have been vaccinated to gather and socialize and celebrate the end of the academic year. It wasn’t fair that last year’s seniors had to graduate remotely, either. I’ve heard a lot of people talking about putting off getting a vaccine until after finals, because it’s a really bad time to take a productivity hit in the case of side-effects. Personally, I get that, and I don’t begrudge anyone deciding on a timing for their vaccination that fits their circumstances. But if you think this is a bad time to get a vaccine, it is a much worse time to actually get infected with COVID-19.

For all of you who are not graduating this year, I know it’s hard, but remember that you have the opportunity to come back next year, when things really should be better. The seniors won’t. The college is trying to pull off something that would have been unthinkable six months ago: an in-person commencement ceremony for graduates and their families. In order for that to be safe, because we have to assume many people there won’t be fully vaccinated yet, the college needs to deny participation to everyone that is exposed to COVID-19 between now and then. For most of us, the worst case probably isn’t becoming seriously ill from COVID-19; it’s being a spreader that puts the people near you in isolation to prevent them from being spreaders.

Don’t be that person. Keep your risk low. Have hope. You can hold off on taking back your life right now, because things will be better, and in the meantime, we could end up making things a lot worse for people that are anticipating a somewhat-normal graduation. And as soon as you can, do get vaccinated, so we can all get back to the things we enjoy with each other.

Best wishes for the end of the semester. It looks like it will be the last one like this. We’re all making sacrifices, and I’m sure our soon-to-be graduates are grateful. As always, have hope, take care of yourselves, and if you can, someone else, too.

Grace and Peace,

–John Stratton