Coronavirus Disrupting Lives Everywhere: Courses Moved Online Through Remainder of Semester

Coming back from Spring Break, many Saint Francis students were ready to finish the spring semester strong.

Talk of the Coronavirus, or COVID-19, was scattered across campus, but no one took it too seriously.

Within a week, however, things changed quickly around the world and at SFU. Athletics competitions were starting to be postponed. Then, within hours, the Northeast Conference canceled all competition for spring sports for the remainder of the season.

The University announced that coursework would move to online delivery for two weeks. Then on March 20, Father Malachi announced that courses would stay online for the remainder of the semester.

“I do not think we’ll be coming back because of the social distancing put in place to slow the spread, and I think it will take longer than two weeks to contain this virus,” said freshman Stefano Petruccelli before University administrators decided to extend the online education model through the end of the semester.

With the NEC canceling the remainder of the 2020 spring sports season, many seniors lost their last season of college competition.

Sophomore Shaylee Caulkins said that she is upset to leave campus and her friends, as well as lose the opportunity for face-to-face classes. She said that it is going to be hard to find a place to work because all of the libraries have been closed and her house is not the best setting for getting work done.

She also expressed empathy for the University’s spring sports athletes.

“I feel worse for the athletes because they worked so hard and are unable to finish what they started,” said Caulkins.

While this is a scary time, there are a few things that students can do over the rest of the semester to make it go smoothly.

Stay connected: with each other, with professors and with your studies. It is easy to return home and drift off during this time, but it is very important to stay grounded so the transition back to school in Loretto is smooth in the future.