Why is this happening? We’re so close to the end. Couldn’t people just wait a couple more weeks to hang out with each other? What about our graduation? Will we still be able to walk? Are we going to get sent home? These were some of the questions that were running through my head this past week. Receiving the unfortunate email that the Mount’s community had reached a Level 2, due to the number of COVID-19 cases surging to 47 students and seminarians and 3 employees. To get to level 2, there has to be at least 40 positive COVID-19 test results in order Level 2 to be established. This is one of the most devastating emails a student could receive on a Tuesday afternoon. This is the first time for this to happen in the academic 2020-2021 school year since the Mount had implemented the Mount Safe Initiative’s Monitoring and Response Plan in August 2020. The number of active cases rose by 74%, from Friday afternoon, to Tuesday morning, according to the university’s COVID-19 Dashboard. In the email that was sent out to the entire university on Tuesday afternoon, it urged students to get the surge under control in order for students to remain on campus through finals. The email informed the community that newer coronavirus variants are more contagious, and we all need to be extra cautious in following the Mount’s risk reduction measures. With the level 2 in place, this means that some athletic teams are shut down. I had the chance to sit down with my roommate, Beanie Colson (c’21) who happens to be on the Mount Women’s Lacrosse Team, that recently has been put on standby due to the spike in COVID-19 cases. I asked her a couple questions about how she feels about the situation. “I was very frustrated. But you can’t help but understand due to the circumstances. You can’t place the blame on anyone, this virus moves quickly” Colson says. “We are getting tested this weekend and the results will determine if we can start practicing again.” Colson is hopeful that in the next week that the women’s lacrosse team will be back in action determined to achieve their goal of winning the NEC championship. Events such as commencement and athletics will not continue if the Mount community does not do their part in these final weeks of the semester.
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