Student to student: Return to a changed campus

In March when UW–Madison announced it was going to suspend in-person instruction for the remainder of our spring semester, I went home to Los Angeles.

I didn’t know how bad the virus would get and was fearful that they would limit domestic travel within the U.S. My mother was also concerned about me because I do not have any family east of Colorado.

If I were to get sick I would have to deal with it alone. So I packed everything up and flew home.

I was home in LA for the last six months, the longest stretch in the last three years. At first, it was a bit of an adjustment, but it was the right decision.

Last week, I returned to Madison to start my senior year. My mom and sister traveled with me to help me settle back in and it was only my sister’s second time in Madison so we showed her around.

Madison did not look like it did back in March. The environment and the energy have changed.

Granted, I returned about two weeks before the school year starts, so not all the students are back yet, but you can see that COVID-19 had an impact.

As I walk down State Street, I see the majority of shops are closed. Shops that I used to go in and walk around in are no longer in business or they are boarded up.

I also saw tons of amazing art murals lining State Street calling for change and action. The art was beautiful and was truly inspiring that not all hope is lost.

At night was when protests ignited and anger and frustration come out in the streets. Following the shooting of Jacob Blake of Kenosha, the streets of Madison became flooded with protestors demanding justice and expressing their overflowing emotions. People were not going to stand by silent. They were going to be heard and seen.

As we ran errands I noticed the bigger stores all had sanitizing stations at the entrances for people to sanitize their hands, baskets, and carts.

I also saw some of the sanitizing stations that UW has placed around campus along with the different testing centers as well.

This school year will be unlike anything we have ever dealt with before. Even though we got a taste of it last semester this semester we will get the full experience of school under a pandemic.

Most classes will be online, most events will be online, and not everyone will be returning to campus this year.

My hopes for this school year are that UW along with the campus community will take the pandemic seriously and follow guidelines that will keep us safe and lessen the severity of the virus.

I also hope that I have a good senior year. I want to be able to still have safe and smart fun with my friends and accomplish great things in my final year at UW.