The most obvious way COVID has affected me is that my sister and I had it– my sister for over 100 days, and myself for around six weeks– the whole part of the semester that was online. For the most part, it was fine. I still did all my work and finished my classes. But there definitely were days when school was more difficult– times when I was focusing on my own breathing, or times when hanging out with my sister was more important than schoolwork. And it was hard because my parents were in Prague and we were figuring out where I could go– hard to figure out how to keep everyone as safe as possible.

I didn’t have a job on campus last year, but the idea of going home and still being expected to pay the SIC when so many people are unemployed and so many options are gone, and so many things can’t go online… the idea that it would be required next year is crazy. I probably would have worked next year because the details of my financial aid changed. I can still try to do that, but just the idea of approaching the idea of student work contribution in the same way when employment is so different doesn’t make sense to me. And then with mental health, this is just such a stressful time, and mental health resources that exist in person or on Yale’s campus are diminished with COVID, like Zoom therapy instead of in person. Like everything in corona-time, Yale needs to be creative and equitable with their plan.

Ruthie Davis, she/her. 2023, Franklin.