January 2020 was the last time Pacific University offered travel courses due to the COVID-19 outbreak. For the next year and a half, most universities moved to online learning, meaning the suspension of any and all abroad travels until further notice.
The music ensembles at Pacific have seen a drop in student participation since COVID-19 began in Spring 2020.
COVID-19 restrictions at Pacific University have changed ever since a vaccine was made available to the public. Masks for example have seen a decrease in usage, with students like athletes and actors receiving permission to remove them while performing.
Coming from a high school that only returned for in-person classes for the last few months of my senior year, moving to fully in-person classes in college has been a bit of a shock. The first week of classes felt super weird, actually being in a classroom again rather than a Zoom meeting.
As of Oct. 4, the university community had six active COVID-19 cases, despite a 95 % vaccine rate and ongoing measures to stop the spread on campus.
During the midst of COVID-19, most classes were able to transition to online lectures with minimal problems, but the Performing Arts departments arguably got hit the hardest.
Academics is the most important thing when it comes to life at Pacific. Although “Zoom University” was a pain last year, classes are finally back to in-person this year, causing some underclassmen to struggle, as they have never truly experienced college academics in a classroom setting.
Freshmen returned to campus for an in-person orientation Aug. 26-30 after a year of online and hybrid learning. At the orientation, there were various required activities, as well as more informational and getting-to-know-you events.
2020 was a year full of hardships for everybody, but it was especially difficult for senior athletes who had lost their last year of college sports to the pandemic. Then, in October of 2020, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) granted an extra year of eligibility for all fall, winter, and spring sport athletes in the Division III category to make up for their lost year.
Since the return of mask mandates in Oregon, many Pacific University students have wondered whether more restrictions will be implemented. Pacific plans to require vaccinations for guests on campus during events or visits. However, Sarah Phillips, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, assures that guest policies have been loosened since last year.
The 2020-2021 school year was confusing, frustrating, and draining. Our college education was moving forward, or just beginning for some, in the midst of a pandemic. The ever-changing COVID-19 protocols and uncertainty of our future made it impossible to find a routine with school, sports, and extracurriculars. Students on and off campus struggled to find normalcy in their college education, and for many freshmen, their experience was cut short.
The pandemic impacted everyone’s lives around the world and the majority of people had to make sacrifices, especially athletes.