In a campus-wide email sent April 9, William Jewell College’s Student Senate cabinet announced that Student Senate campaigning and elections would be postponed to the fall of 2020. In addition, Mario Magana, Jr., 2019-2020 Senate Vice President and sophomore business administration major, was named acting president pending the fall elections. 

Student Senate ceased operations following Jewell’s transition to online classes and closure of campus. Hannah Keeney, 2019-2020 Senate President and senior psychological science and Applied Critical Thought and Inquiry major, noted that virtual operation of Senate would be limited at best. Magana said the Student Senate cabinet has deferred much of their regular responsibilities to College administration but still remain active in virtual campus task forces.

“Although Student Senate is responsible for representing the student body, this is a circumstance where we must trust in school administration to make executive decisions for the good of the students, as well as maintain academic integrity,” Magana said. “However, Student Senate is made-up of students with valuable on campus connections. So, even if we have not formally contributed to policy proposals, our presence and voice is available to our task-groups and committees.” 

Keeney mentioned that the cessation of Senate operations cut some major initiatives short – particularly plans for a food pantry for students – but she remains optimistic that first-year, sophomore and junior senators will be able to implement the plans in the coming year. 

One final Senate meeting was held digitally following spring break. Decisions about postponement and the designation of Magana as acting president were made in conjunction with class senators and Senate’s staff advisors, Dean of Students Shelly King and Associate Dean of Students Ernie Stufflebean.

“I feel at home by taking on the role of President, but I definitely feel the added pressure of continuing my term through these difficult times. I always have the best in mind for my fellow Cardinals, so that part of me will make it easy to proceed. It’s also exciting as I see this as an opportunity to demonstrate more leadership on campus and familiarize myself further with the school’s operations. I am very honored to be able to assume such responsibilities, especially when it matters most,” Magana said.  

As far as his plans go for his tenure as acting president, Magana’s only plans for the remainder of the academic year are to check back in with senators for input about how the year has gone and any other concluding thoughts they may have. Then, over the summer, Magana plans to reach out to connect with students and listen to any questions and concerns they may have had while Senate operations were halted. When school starts again in August, Magana’s primary focus will be to head a fluid transition of Senate back into campus life. He has plans to prepare an outline of issues that a new cabinet can immediately address. 

As far as plans for the fall elections go, Magana is prioritizing the smooth, comfortable transition of students back to the flow of campus life. Once students get settled, which Magana estimates will take approximately two weeks, he will release a finalized election timeline and notify students that they may start assembling their cabinets. After a week-long campaigning period, voting will take place and the new cabinet will be announced. 

Magana added that, despite their presence on campus at the time of elections, the Class of 2024 will not be eligible to run for Student Senate cabinet.

“These are already uneasy times and the transition is complicated as is. For this all to be done properly, we need people who are familiar with the school, students, and campus life. Although, I do highly encourage incoming [first-years] to run for a class Senator position,” Magana said. 

As Magana looks to the future of Senate, senior Hannah Keeney looks back at the abrupt end to her tenure as Senate president. Keeney was invited to be a student representative on Jewell’s Emergency Task Force in response to COVID-19. At an initial meeting, she felt alarmed by the rapidity with which COVID-19 disrupted university operations worldwide. 

“[I]t was easy to see the writing on the wall. My gut told me when I left for Spring Break that I wouldn’t be coming back anytime soon. For that reason, I packed up most of my items and fit as much as I could in my car to take home permanently. While there are many angles to speak from in the ways that COVID-19 has [affected] my senior year – the Senate presidency was certainly one of the most devastating. I felt as though we had finally started to get our groove as a Senate body and were making progress in tiny – but important – improvements around campus. I am saddened to think about projects cut short but am hopeful some of them can be carried forward by the next Senate body,” Keeney said. 

In a final statement, Magana praised the College for its decision-making during the pandemic. 

“Ultimately, I think every decision made has been for the best. These times are difficult for a lot of people, and we could only wish things could be normal. In an ideal situation, everyone is on campus, graduation is as planned, and the year is what we want it to be. However, I think Jewell has reacted appropriately and with empathy. I am very proud to be able to represent the Student Body for the meantime and I am excited to see how we transition into better days,” Magana said. 

In Keeney’s final remarks, she emphasized her confidence in Magana to lead the student body during this transitional period. 

“Mario will do an excellent job in assisting in the cabinet transition and striving to remain objective during the process,” Keeney said.

Hannah Keeney, senior psychological science major and president of the student body, discusses the loss felt by seniors as classes are moved online in their final semester as William Jewell College students.  

A Jewell staff member that I’ve spoken to recently implied that the emotional side of the impact that the student body is facing as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak warrants the grieving process. The stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. For whatever reason, this always angered me in previous encounters with the grieving process. I despised having my feelings reduced to what seemed like menial stages. In my experience you feel all of them at once – except for the last one of course. 

Most of us are familiar with this process – some more intimately than others. Because of my personal encounters with grief, I’ve questioned whether this circumstance was even worth grieving. It seems like everyone has a sadder story right now; aren’t I one of the lucky ones? How childish, I’ve thought to myself, to grieve for something that’s not even tangible. I’ve been hard on myself. I’ve even been critical of other articles and social media posts I’ve seen written. 

The reality of it, though, is that the impacts of this pandemic do warrant a grieving process, and all responses, from doom-and-gloom to the optimist, are valid. Grief, to me, is a series of contradictions: highs and lows, laughing out of fear, crying hysterically, seeing this time as an opportunity for growth, realizing the abundance of loss, the list goes on. There is no wrong way to grieve, and allowing yourself to do so typically leads to some sort of emotional freedom.

However, the class of 2020 is in a particularly odd predicament.

What a peculiar time of life we’re in. We’re grieving our premature end to our Jewell journey yet ready to launch into the rest of our lives. After all, it feels as though we’re done with Jewell. We’re ready to move into the beginning of our careers, graduate school, medical school, law school, physical therapy school or what else our next steps may entail. 

By all accounts this would be an opportune time to be looking at apartments, perfecting our interview skills or getting a head start to our further education. However, our nation – and the world – is put on hold. Those looking at potential first real jobs have the phrase “hiring freeze” laced in their minds as newfound insecurity – as if finding that initial job wasn’t enough pressure. 

We’re still expected to complete our classes and are only hoping that professors show us grace during this trying time. We’re doing all the work without the usual stress-relievers. Those de-stressors are what kept many of us invested in Jewell. They gave us energy and challenged us to have more than a transactional relationship with our education. We didn’t get to say goodbye to those, and now we’re still just going through the motions to get our work done. 

As students of a school that lives and dies by the value of authentic engagement, this feels incommensurate. It’s difficult to even begin to quantify all that we’ve lost. No senior days, no last recitals, no known last meetings in our Greek organizations, no senior lunches with our professors, or proper farewell or truly just soaking in the little things and being able to appreciate them one last time. From sitting outside on a sunny day at Jewell to the final traditions, we’ve been deprived of the simple luxury of closure.

Choosing to acknowledge these issues and address them does not make you weak, it does not make you selfish, and it’s not taking away from other struggles felt by those with sad stories. 

There’s no denying the additional stressors placed on us, in addition to the already pertinent struggles we’ve faced this year. Embracing the struggle, acknowledging it and not trying to avoid the undeniable inconvenience allows you to move forward. This season of life – this strange purgatory – is an indefinite amount of time. This is a large component of the given challenge. 

However, moving forward does not always mean moving onto your next chapter. For the first time in, well, probably four years, we have no expectations. Everything is on hold. We’re free to do what we want. Someone once told me that you can really tell what someone’s made of when they’re under an extreme amount of pressure. Like a water bottle, they said, if it wasn’t a clear bottle, and you couldn’t see what was inside, you’d have to squeeze it to make the contents come out. Once you do, it’s evident what’s inside. 

For the first time in a long time, friends, we have no pressure. The world has halted. We need not advance. We truly can heal ourselves, so when the world starts again, and squeezes us once more, we speak with words of wisdom and acts of kindness.

Although this is not an ideal closing to my favorite chapter of life, I am grateful for what Jewell has brought me. I appreciate everything each of you, class of 2020, has given me. To be amidst such genuine kindness and closeness in one place is something I intend to never take for granted again. My hope for my class is that we take advantage of time. Time to grieve, time to reflect on our last few years, time to thank those who have impacted our lives, time to pray, time to establish staying in touch, time to strengthen relationships and time to heal. 

This is my hope because one day, sooner rather than later, the world will be thrust out of a halt. Once it is, there will be new pressures, and the world will test us once more. We are strong, and what is inside of us is far stronger than the adversity facing us now. For these moments, however, take time. Rest, play and give yourself some grace. We’ve earned it.