I used to never get phone calls – maybe one every couple of months if I was lucky. But at the time, it didn’t matter how often my phone rang because I was always hearing other people’s voices, talking to them face-to-face. I would get text messages like “hey how did you do number six?” or “by the way I can’t make it to practice in the morning” – but anything else could just wait until the next day. I didn’t even have Snapchat. 

Now my phone rings more than it ever had before.

When the COVID-19 pandemic started, I was still in high school. We were about to go on spring break, but no one really thought we were going to be affected by it – there were only a handful of cases in the United States at the time. Even though we were doubtful of the effect COVID-19 would have on us, my English teacher still said, “Make sure you guys take all of your stuff with you in case we don’t come back.”

We left for spring break, and soon it was announced we were extending break for a week to give teachers time to prepare to move online, which we would be doing for the foreseeable future. 

My parents were still working, as their jobs were deemed essential, so I was looking forward to a lonely few weeks. I’d just sit at home with my dog, playing video games and watching Nextflix, waiting for online school to start. But once it did start, not much changed. Using Zoom was against my school policy so online classes consisted of teachers publishing the work for the week every Monday and me sitting down and completing everything for the entire week in about six hours so I could just go back to the television until the next Monday came. 

I wasn’t really talking to anyone and the quarantine loneliness was kicking in. I would text my friends a little bit, but no one really had anything to talk about. I would watch the weekly “How are you doing?” videos my English classmates were posting and listen to them talk about “Tiger King” and baking bread. It was nice to hear their voices and see their faces. Even though it wasn’t normal, it was still better than nothing.

At some point during the blur, it was announced that we were moving permanently online for the rest of the year and that graduation was to be postponed. 

The communication started increasing after that. After we took the AP Calculus test, my friend Victoria called me and we talked for an hour, just catching up, and it was so nice to hear her voice. My best friend Katie and I would talk occasionally but we normally just texted, but even with that, being able to know a little about her day when we’d basically spent the past four years by each other’s side made things feel a little more normal. 

Even before the pandemic, my mom and I would FaceTime occasionally with my brother, as he lives in Oregon. Once the lockdowns started, and to this day, we added my grandma to the calls, sticking to a schedule: family FaceTime at 1 p.m. every Sunday. 

When I moved to Liberty for William Jewell College in August last year, the communication really started to pick up. 

I made new friends here, ones that I think I’ll cherish for a long time, but I also haven’t forgotten the friends that got me through the first 18 years of my life. 

I got Snapchat. Now Katie and I have a 69-day streak which would have been more than double that if we hadn’t lost it. We FaceTime sometimes, too, just for little things like complaining about the K-pop industry’s recent choices. We also send each other TikToks, Tweets and just things that make us laugh. 

My mom calls me sometimes on her way home from work now, connecting me through Bluetooth so we can tell each other about our days. Every once in a while I’ll call my dad and we’ll tiptoe around politics and talk about World War II. I’ve gotten them both to send me semi-constant updates on my dog, including pictures. 

More often than not, my phone has a message waiting for me, or it’s ringing, just waiting for me to pick up. The constant communication has been nice. 

When the pandemic started, the world got a lot more lonely. I didn’t see anyone except for my parents for weeks at a time, and if I did, we couldn’t hug, and I couldn’t see them smile. The FaceTimes and text messages and Snapchats have filled some of the communication void. Even though I, like most everyone else, wish we could just go back to the way things were, finding new ways to communicate has gotten me through the year.

Students at William Jewell College will soon move in, beginning with new students Aug. 22 and ending with returning students Aug. 25. Due to health precautions implemented to best maintain the Jewell community’s health during the COVID-19 pandemic, move-in will be noticeably different than in years past.

Before move-in, students must fill out a COVID-19 Campus Housing Screening Form no sooner than 24 hours before moving in to campus. Once on campus, instead of going straight to their residence halls, students will report to the Mabee Center – where they will be screened for temperatures and given a stamp that allows them to move into their designated residence halls. New students will also receive their iPad from the Mabee Center upon check-in.

This is the first year that Greek life and other students will not be present on new student move-in day to assist with first-year move-in. Instead, all students – both new and returning – will be able to have no more than two guests help them move in. Once screened and approved, students and their guests will make their ways to residence halls, where there will be separate staircases for entering and exiting to promote distancing.

Masks are required to be worn properly by all in attendance. Gloves, which are also required to be worn, will be passed out at check-in. Students will be given a 90 minute designated time slot to move in to ensure minimal congestion of the residence halls and adhere to capacity guidelines. Since guests are not permitted in dorms while the campus is at level B or C of the campus housing protocol, guests who are helping students move must leave campus immediately following the end of the designated 90 minute time slot.

Once students are moved in they must adhere to the housing, dining and campus policies associated with the threat level matrix – which are categorized in increasing threat from 0, A, B, C and D, with D meaning cluster cases have broken out on campus. The current threat level can be found by viewing the threat level flag placed on the quad or on the Jewell website. The color of the flag – bright green for level 0, light green for level A, yellow for level B, light red for level C and dark red for level D – will denote the current threat level and appropriate precautions to be taken.

The only new housing policy for the 2020-21 school year is the Quarantine and Isolation Policy, which was recently put out by the College. The document states that “students must be ready to act swiftly should they find themselves in one of the final two categories [exposed to, showing symptoms of or diagnosed with COVID-19]. Residential students should also have an immediate off campus housing contingency plan (return home, stay with friends or relatives, etc.) in the event of an unanticipated campus closure.”

Asymptomatic residential students who have been exposed to someone suspected to have or diagnosed with COVID-19 must temporarily relocate to a room designated for quarantine use by Jewell staff. Students under quarantine are prohibited from having visitors and can arrange for meals to be delivered to their room. If a student under quarantine does test positive for COVID-19, they must begin isolation. 

Students diagnosed with COVID-19 or another highly contagious illness must begin isolation if they are unable to leave campus. Students under isolation may leave their room only to use the restroom or in case of emergency and will have isolation room calls from the College nurse practitioner. Visitors are prohibited in both instances. Students will be released from quarantine and/or isolation following 14 days free of COVID-19 symptoms and upon permission from the nurse practitioner.  

In addition to the changed move-in and housing policies, the College is taking other steps to make campus safer as students return to campus. Plexiglass has been installed in high traffic consumer areas and in certain classrooms. All students and employees will be expected to track symptoms daily using this form. 

Two cloth masks will be provided to students upon arrival – as they are required to wear on campus at all times unless otherwise instructed – and there will be stations for disposable masks throughout campus. Custodial services will be cleaning high-touch areas at least once a day. The College is also encouraging students and employees to clean high-touch areas after each use, following the “wingtip and wipe method,” wherein one wipes down every area within reach of one’s open arms.

Testing and contact tracing will be followed throughout the semester. Testing is always available through the Clay County Health Department and is free for Jewell students. Preventative testing of asymptomatic members of the Jewell community will be directed to the Clay County Health Department to be tested. Those who are symptomatic or asymptomatic with recent exposure will be tested at either the Student Health Center or Liberty Hospital, chosen on a case by case basis. Those directed to be tested at Liberty Hospital will not be responsible for the cost of the test, according to Jewell’s COVID-19 testing policy. 

Students will be tested periodically if they are participating in activities in which facial coverings are not required and distancing cannot always be executed. According to the testing policy, students who fall under that category are those participating in “team physical exercise, athletic practices and weight training, and athletic performances in which distancing is difficult and facial coverings are not advised,” as well as those in “ensembles, rehearsals, and vocal or theatrical productions (performers only).”

To ensure these precautionary measures are effective, the College strongly suggests that all students get tested no less than 72 hours before returning to campus. 

For more information on measures the College is taking, refer to Jewell’s Campus Guide During the COVID-19 Pandemic.