Will we end up transitioning to virtual learning? Can I plan for my friend’s birthday party in mid-October? Should my club be hosting in-person events? How seriously are other people taking the Delta variant? It’s the uncertainty of the pandemic’s future direction that affects every aspect of college life-putting a damper on what we can and can’t plan for. And although we remain hopeful for avoiding future tight-knit pods or lengthy quarantines, the uncertainty of the continuing Covid pandemic ensures that we all remain at the edge of our seats. Needless to say, we were excited, if not slightly overwhelmed. For a brief time during the summer, it looked like we would be returning to a fall semester similar to my sophomore year-unmasked lectures, in-person club events, and a social life unhindered by health and safety regulations. Current IssueĪs I approach my senior year of college, the prospect of having a “normal” last hurrah seems increasingly unlikely. This academic year will test our resolve as students in many new and unexpected ways-but more than ever, it will test our willingness and ability to leverage the privileges and resources available to us in order to further a vision of equity and justice within and beyond campus walls.
The appetite for institutional accountability on the defining issues of our day, from climate change and systemic racism to labor rights and migrant justice, has never felt stronger. No matter the mode of communication, it seems clear that the vast inequalities and structural injustices visible on the societal microcosms of our campuses-ones only exacerbated by Covid-19-will continue driving students to take action.
As the circumstances of the pandemic evolve, so will the tactics we bring to bear-likely, a hybrid of complementary online and in person activism. When we couldn’t occupy an administrative building or storm a football field to call for climate justice, for instance, Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard channeled its energies into hosting a virtual Earth Day comedy show, filing a historic legal complaint, and securing a pro-divestment bill in the state legislature. The reality of the ever-spreading Delta variant and general uncertainty around what this pandemic holds for the future loom in the background of the “normal” pre-pandemic life on campus many of us want so desperately to reclaim.īut if the last year and a half has taught me anything as a student organizer, it’s that the possibilities for creative intervention and disruption of the status quo are boundless. Even as I embrace the long-awaited opportunity to share physical space with my peers on returning to campus-made possible by my university community’s high rate of vaccination and level of access-I remain keenly aware that we may have to adapt our plans for strategy meetings, information sessions, and public demonstrations at any moment. –Cassidy Morales, City University of New YorkĪ year and a half after the Covid pandemic first forced us to leave campus, the separation from my friends and fellow fossil fuel divestment organizers still feels like an expectation. I hope that these discussions continue, and eventually lead to positive change. More people are starting to see how our government systems can often ignore our nation’s most vulnerable populations, even amid a pandemic. The virus has sparked meaningful conversations about equity and justice in numerous sectors of public life, such as education, housing, health care, and workers’ rights. More importantly, Covid has highlighted important preexisting disparities within our society. It is much easier to attend class if I’m sick or not feeling well, and I can take or teach classes from anywhere in the world with an Internet connection. Despite these misgivings, Covid has helped improve my academic experience in a few ways.
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