The Covid-19 Pandemic has dramatically changed life as we know it. For KU students, abiding by COVID-19 precautions has been a way of life and backbone to keeping activities and classes on campus running functionally and safety. This past year has required strict enforcement of CDC Recommended Guidelines to ensure the safety of anyone on campus however, with updated guidelines and vaccination rollout, students are able to expect normalcy to return to campus for the upcoming Fall 2021-Spring 2022 school year.
The Athletics Department at the University of Kansas is no stranger to COVID-19 precautions as positive cases can drastically impact the performance capabilities of an athlete and/or team. In addition to the athletes, the staff that make different athletic events happen also have to be on-top of following the guidelines which has remained consistent in this past year but is bound to ease up for the Fall 2021 Semester and onward. Staff working any KU athletic event has either been assigned a time slot to get COVID-19 tested if they assume a role that requires them to be in close contact with athletes or staff members have gotten their temperature taken and given a green wristband (as opposed to a pink “COVID Tested” wristband) to indicate they have been screened and did not show symptoms for the virus. While it is still up in the air what this fall’s protocols are going to be exactly, Tim Cornell, full time employee with Rock Chalk Video, offered thoughts about our next steps, “I don’t see the way our athletics department has been handling the pandemic changing for the fall other than some minor things…” Tim further elaborated on how this past year went by saying, “I think we are wasting some resources right now with the way we do it but hopefully with people getting vaccinated they can find a way to identify those who are and aren’t with wristbands similar to the ones we wear now”.
Students at the University of Kansas have also had to adjust to COVID-19, specifically with the way classes have been modified for COVID-19 safety, which includes a heavy emphasis on online classes as Fall 2020 was fully online for all students and Spring 2021 has adopted more of a hybrid schedule for students. During this past year, many students struggled to adapt easily to an online schedule and the news that KU will return to in-person classes has generated a new buzz among the student body. “I think everyone will benefit from being back in classes and interacting with people more again after this past year because online classes have created a huge disconnect for many people and that’s what has made classes harder for me this past year” said Ellie Murphy, sophomore at the University of Kansas. Ellie’s input is one that many students agree with and students are finally starting to see the light at the end of this online year.
The University of Kansas has created a page for students, staff, and anyone curious to see their plans for the Fall 2021 semester. This page is continually updated as CDC Guidelines are updated. On Thursday, May 14th, the CDC announced that those who have received the vaccine and are outside of the 2-week period following their last shot are now not required to wear masks or social distance. For the University of Kansas, this means that students do not have to wear their masks outside.
While we are approaching the finish line with the pandemic, COVID-19 has also left some damage that will take time to recover from even after we reach herd immunity. One of COVID-19’s biggest points of damage at the University of Kansas, outside of how it has changed the structure of classes and events, is how hard it has hit KU’s budget. The University of Daily Kansan published an article that specifies how the College of Liberal Arts, Engineering, and Music are all facing at least a 10% budget cut as a result of the pandemic. These budget cuts are happening because COVID-19 forced many people to reconsider their college options and a sizable amount of students chose to opt-out of their colleges to enroll in community colleges in order to save money because many students felt it was best to receive online education elsewhere at a fraction of the cost since the virus has hit the economy hard and required people to readjust their spending habits. This drop in enrollment for the University of Kansas has occured at the expense of various academic units and will take a considerable amount of time to recover from.
COVID-19 has presented a variety of challenges that have made everyone reconsider how they go about their day-to-day lives. This past year alone has been labeled as the worst year of many people’s lives but for folks at the University of Kansas, there is light peeking over the horizon that is offering promising long-awaited news of normalcy that the KU Community has long been seeking. As everyone awaits the CDC Guidelines and eventual KU guidelines update, the University of Kansas is working hard to give students tangible evidence that the finish line is in sight which is incredibly valuable in a time where many now have a hard time imagining a normal world after COVID-19 is in our rear-view mirror.
Chloe Proebsting 