Phillipian Commentary: Response to COVID-19

Coronavirus has kept my family and me in the house for the most part, and inside our town boundaries almost completely. To be honest, I am displeased with the fact that I lost my entire Spring Term. Along with that, I also lost time to be with my closest friends, some of whom are off to college next year and I won’t be able to see anymore. Due to our inability to be on campus, I am not looking forward to taking online classes, but I also realize the change of communication will be supported by pass/fail classes.

As for online classes, I think it will be interesting to have this new experience. However I think it will get tiring after the first couple of weeks. There will be a lot of new challenges that will present themselves because of it, and they will need to be overcome in the moment.

In my opinion, Andover is handling the situation as they should in accordance with the government’s response to the virus, if not better than how many other schools are handling it. More specifically, I respect the decision to delay their final choice for whether or not to make the entirety of Spring Term remote.

While not at Andover, I will miss my dorm experience the most, and how often I am with my friends on campus. I was also going to try crew this spring, but may not have the opportunity due to the virus outbreak.

For my family and me, not being able to see friends and family due to our social responsibility to distance ourselves from others has been the most challenging obstacle with the outbreak. We have not struggled with obtaining food or anything of importance.

At home, I am not under full quarantine, but I have not left the house too much besides exercising and getting food from the grocery store. It gets old quickly, and daily life becomes repetitive. I am hoping this all ends quickly so things can return to the way they once were.

While the whole situation is unfortunate, I believe Andover is doing the best they can now and will continue to do what is right in the future as developments come forward. As it stands now, they have not jumped to conclusions or rushed the decisions they have made to deal with the virus, which is exactly as it should be. With the now ultra-extended break, I will most likely just use the time to recharge my batteries and relax.

Editor’s note: This article was written before the school’s decision to complete the remainder of Spring Term online.