Monday, driving away from campus, I had no clue when or if I would return. 

On Tuesday, we got that confirmation. Classes will be held online for the rest of the academic year. 

There is not much to say at this point. There is pain, grief and sadness right now. There is so much to process and so much to understand. The biggest question—how do we move forward from here? What do we do now?

These are questions I do not have the answers to. I desperately wish I had them for you. There is still so much we don’t know and has to be determined. Some of us don’t know where we are living, and others are now unemployed. When we were asked to leave DU, we left our belongings behind and our friends and memories with them. 

I have spent the last few days grappling with the fact that my senior year looks nothing like what I hoped for. There are so many things that I will no longer get to experience. 

To my fellow seniors, you are justified in feeling sad, angry and upset at the way this is ending. You are allowed to feel these feelings. Gone are the firsts that many of us were looking to; the banquets and the dinners, sports, games, and more. To many of us, graduation was a certainty, something we could hold firm to in the midst of this upheaval. I don’t know when I will see my friends again, and I don’t know what will happen after graduation. I don’t know what the world will look like in six days or six weeks. 

Here is what I do know. 

Spend time with those closest to you. Connect to the ones you hold dear. This upheaval has taught me that it is not the school or the experiences, but the people you spend your time with that make it all worthwhile. Learn a new hobby, the one you were waiting for time to learn. You have the time now—use it. Stream Netflix and Disney+. Stay at home, and learn to love the peace and quiet. 

One day, we will recover. The earth recovers, time and time again, and so will we. 

Until then, choose humanity. At the end of the day, we are all one and the same. Humanity is fearful and worried, but humanity is also strong, resilient, selfless and caring. We know this when humanity gives away their salary so other staff can get paid. We are fearful and nervous, and that is okay. But we are also so much stronger than the fear and worry. We are resilient, and we will beat this, together.

Hannah Branit

Editor-in-Chief Emeritus