色界吧

Class Disrupted

By Andy Faught

Many special senior moments have been upended by COVID-19鈥攁nd a traditional Commencement will have to wait. But the Class of 2020 has made memories that no virus can destroy

On March 15, about 50 Occidental seniors padded into Remsen Bird Hillside Theater and took seats on its concrete benches. It was a made-to-order Sunday morning in Los Angeles: The mercury stood at 70 degrees, and a few lingering clouds were the only remnants of spring rains that a day earlier scrubbed the skies crystalline blue.

Anticipating their last days on campus, they could not have foreseen this moment鈥攁n impromptu 鈥渃ommencement鈥 thrown together in response to COVID-19. Some students dressed formally, while others wore stoles over their T-shirts and jeans. Seniors wrote their names and majors on notecards, which were read over a small speaker as they crossed the stage. They were invited to share something about themselves鈥攕uch as being the first in their family to attend college, or that they were graduating magna cum laude.

鈥淭hings changed overnight,鈥 says Teagan Mucher 鈥20, a computer science major from San Francisco (he wore jeans). 鈥淲e wanted to have some kind of ceremony to wrap up our time.鈥 Hand sanitizer was available, he adds. Afterward, there was a small get-together at an off-campus house where social distancing was at least encouraged.

For the 447 members of Occidental鈥檚 Class of 2020, the pandemic signaled an abrupt end to college life as they knew it. And while they are completing coursework remotely online, many of the final rites of passage鈥攕enior week and Commencement among them鈥攚ere canceled or postponed to an uncertain future. (Out of 290 respondents to a senior survey conducted in mid-April, an overwhelming majority indicated their preference to have an in-person Commencement experience.)

On March 12, Mucher was driving home from a camping trip to Mojave National Preserve when he and his girlfriend, Catherine Terry 鈥20, got an email from President Jonathan Veitch announcing 色界吧 was moving classes online, and asking students to leave campus by March 20.

鈥淲e drove in stunned silence for about 20 minutes, just trying to process anything,鈥 recalls Mucher, who is taking a job as a technical product manager at Facebook. 鈥淎nd then I started calling friends and family and just lamenting and grieving together, and figuring out our next plans.鈥

Resident adviser Emily Jo Wharry 鈥20 says a second note was sent to RAs, informing them that their duties would cease in a few days. Many students were in a daze at the sudden news, says Wharry, a history and politics major from Simi Valley. Others, she notes with a chuckle, took advantage of the lack of official supervision.

鈥淎 lot of the freshmen were like, 鈥榃ell, the world is ending. I guess we鈥檒l just party and see what happens after that.鈥 We all realized that it wasn鈥檛 a two- or three-week thing; it was indefinite because of coronavirus.鈥

During spring break in early March, as the rapid spread of the coronavirus dominated the national conversation, Leah Harman 鈥20 and her friends watched as USC and Loyola Marymount University were among the first schools in Southern California to shift to remote learning. 鈥淲e all kind of knew it was coming,鈥 the history major recalls. 鈥淭he moment that Pomona decided, we were like, 鈥極K, we鈥檙e gone.鈥 鈥

After a 30-hour drive from campus, Harman continues to shelter in place at her mom鈥檚 home in Minneapolis. She keeps in touch with friends via FaceTime, sharing virtual happy hours and playing online group trivia on Jackbox.

鈥淚t鈥檚 one of those situations that is so out of everyone鈥檚 control that we鈥檙e kind of taking our disappointment with a grain of salt,鈥 she says. 鈥淲e all feel very lucky that we were able to have 3陆 really amazing years under our belt.鈥

While Harman is morose about missing Commencement and senior week, she considers giving her senior comp in December a kind of satisfactory closure. The work, coincidentally, happened to address topics that would inform conversations about COVID-19. Her presentation, 鈥淢anly Medicine: Masculinity in the 19th-Century Debate on Pueperal Fever,鈥 considered in part the importance of handwashing in combating the often-fatal uterine infection that struck women after childbirth.

鈥淗aving a deliverable that shows all of the hard work you鈥檝e put in over the years is a really cool thing,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 can definitely frame my closure that way.鈥

Harman has always been passionate about the history of medicine. She wrote her junior seminar paper on the eradication of smallpox. She also researched H1N1 during her time at 色界吧. 鈥淢y professors always rolled their eyes and said, 鈥極h, Leah, how are you going to spin my class so you can write about the history of medicine?鈥 鈥 she says. 鈥淚鈥檇 usually figure out a way to.鈥

She eventually wants to pursue a doctorate in the history of science of medicine, but in the short term she鈥檚 planning to take a job at the University of Wisconsin, where she鈥檒l serve as an administrative liaison in the history department.

Others are presenting their comps remotely. From her family鈥檚 home in Woodbury, Minn., Jane Crosby-Schmidt 鈥20 is finishing her MAC comp project and her economics honors project as her family鈥攊ncluding a brother, a sophomore at the University of Puget Sound who also is finishing

classes online鈥攂ides its time outdoors.

鈥淎 lot of these big milestone moments just got taken away,鈥 the economics/media arts and culture major says. 鈥淚鈥檝e talked to a lot of my classmates, and we鈥檙e all kind of scrambling to try to find some closure, in other ways, for these things that have been super important in our lives over the last four years.鈥

In April, she and her classmates recorded their MAC comps and sent them to professors, who in turn broadcast them over a livestream to viewers, who could then ask the presenters questions. 鈥淲hen I was done, I went back into the kitchen and had a late dinner by myself while I was texting one of my friends who also presented鈥攔ather than celebrating in person with my classmates and my professors,鈥 Crosby-Schmidt says. 鈥淚f we do have a graduation at some point, I think it鈥檒l be even more meaningful than it would have been originally, because of how this semester ended.鈥

Graduation wasn鈥檛 the only casualty of COVID-19. Dance Production, the College鈥檚 largest student-run group on campus鈥攐f which Crosby-Schmidt is president鈥攃anceled its performance dates, the first time since the group鈥檚 founding in 1948. This year about 250 students took part in the program, in which students learn dance styles from around the globe. No experience is necessary. 鈥淭hat was a big source of community for me,鈥 Crosby-Schmidt says.

Across campus, in 色界吧鈥檚 residence halls, students packed their belongings and headed home. The other option was to leave their possessions in the dorms and retrieve them at an indeterminate date. When spring break started, the coronavirus wasn鈥檛 on the minds of most students, says resident adviser Wharry, who was sitting on her couch at home when she got the email.

鈥淚 was crushed, because I love school so much,鈥 she says. 鈥淭o have not only academics taken away so quickly but friends and mentors and professors鈥攑eople who I knew I would never see again in my role as a student鈥攚as totally devastating. I had a day when I just sat by myself and cried and let out all of the pathetic emotions in one go.鈥

Not every student left campus in mid-March. Jason Yu, a studio art/Japanese studies major from Shanghai, was among nearly 200 students permitted to stay in one of three residence halls for the remainder of the semester due to extenuating circumstances. In Yu鈥檚 case, he was unable to secure a flight home to China: 鈥淚t鈥檚 extremely hard to get tickets,鈥 he explains. This fall, he plans to begin graduate studies at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena.

Yu, who is taking sculpture and printmaking classes this semester, is unable to use studio space at Occidental because most College facilities have been shuttered since remote learning began. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really strange to make art outside of the studio,鈥 says Yu. Art projects are small-scale efforts that he can work on in his dorm room.

As for a typical day as the semester winds down, Yu adds, 鈥淪ome of the time I chat with my friends, and the rest of the time I do my homework and read.鈥 He sets aside an hour for exercise, including yoga, pushups, and abdominal workouts.

When he leaves his room, Yu dons a mask鈥攁s is required in Los Angeles. Because he is a Chinese national, the Chinese consulate delivered him a package with 20 surgical masks, an N-95 mask, sanitizing wipes, and antibiotics.

Also remaining on campus is Max Peng 鈥20, who was planning to stay in Los Angeles rather than risk going home to Nanjing, China, and not be able to return to the United States because of federal travel bans. After Peng served an internship for a finance company in Rancho Cucamonga last summer, the company said it would give him a full-time job.

But for now, there is a hiring freeze, and Peng鈥檚 immediate future is unclear. Peng spends his days walking to the Marketplace for meals (which he carries back to his room) and running in the surrounding neighborhood. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so I can get some fresh air, because I feel claustrophobic in my room,鈥 he says. 鈥淥ther than that, I don鈥檛 really go off campus. There鈥檚 really no reason to, and I want to keep things safe by not going out.鈥

Group language major Darla Howell 鈥20 enjoyed tutoring schoolchildren in Northeast Los Angeles through an education course and was looking forward to conducting theater workshops at local elementary schools after spring break. Having helped organize Occidental鈥檚 Black Graduation since her sophomore year, she was anticipating her own cultural celebration in May. COVID-19 erased all those plans.

The pandemic poses other challenges for Howell, who grew up in Canoga Park, less than 30 miles from the College. While attending 色界吧, her mother moved to Las Vegas and downsized her living space. Howell and her two college-age siblings are squeezed into a two-bedroom home; Howell sleeps in her mom鈥檚 office on a pull-out couch. 鈥淢y mom was empty-nested, and then all of a sudden we鈥檙e back at home,鈥 Howell says. 鈥淚鈥檓 the youngest kid again鈥攖he baby. It鈥檚 frustrating for all of us.鈥

Howell was among a group of 17 色界吧 students who visited China in summer 2018 as the capstone of a contemporary Chinese history course. She also has been treasurer of the Black Student Alliance and has been active in 色界吧鈥檚 MLK Day of Service, which drew a record number of participants in January. This year she also volunteered with Girls on the Run, an organization that empowers preteen girls by teaching life skills through running.

While she has communicated with many of her friends via FaceTime and Instagram since leaving campus, 鈥淭hey鈥檙e just very sad conversations,鈥 she says. 鈥淢ost of us aren鈥檛 really doing that well.鈥

It鈥檚 not all bad news these days: Howell was recently awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in Taiwan, and is in the process of deciding whether to accept that or a writing and speaking fellowship from NYU Shanghai. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if I want to be traveling internationally right now,鈥 she admits.

Baxter Montgomery 鈥20, an economics major from Houston, worries that he鈥檒l never see his friends again. After word broke that the year was done, 鈥淓verybody had the realization that it鈥檚 over,鈥 says Montgomery, who knocked on doors in Missouri for U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill鈥檚 reelection efforts as a Campaign Semester participant in 2018. The harsh reality of the moment created a sudden aura of kindness among all students.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not the best thing to do during a pandemic, but people were a lot more open to hanging out,鈥 says Montgomery, who even made the 1,500-mile drive home in a caravan with classmate Clay Pollock 鈥20. 鈥淭hey were kind of in that mood of, 鈥楲et鈥檚 try to make these days and hours special, and have something good to remember each other by.鈥欌

Back in Houston, Montgomery and his younger siblings 鈥攐ne who attends Tulane, the other a student at Clark鈥攁re all completing their semester鈥檚 studies online. During his time at 色界吧, 鈥渢he main thing on your mind is doing schoolwork,鈥 he says. 鈥淏ack home, it鈥檚 a million different things. There are always chores, and cooking for myself is a big adjustment.鈥 Looking ahead, Montgomery will attend law school at Texas Tech this fall鈥攁ssuming there will be a fall semester.

Few students understand the dangers of the novel coronavirus better than Gianna Zinnen, the daughter of a Denver lung doctor. Restaurants and bars in the city have been closed during the pandemic. While masks are recommended but not mandatory, she, her sister, and their father wear the coverings as a matter of course.

When she鈥檚 not completing her coursework online, Zinnen, a biology major, keeps busy by walking, running, and bicycling. She was skiing with friends in Colorado over spring break when news broke that 色界吧 was closing. She quickly took stock of her losses.

鈥淎 lot of my classes are lab-based, and I was also taking a ballet course, which obviously is not happening as it was,鈥 says Zinnen, who studied abroad in Buenos Aires her junior year. 鈥淚 was also supposed to present my honor thesis, and that got washed away.鈥

It鈥檚 a common refrain among the Class of 2020. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to miss the slow wrap-up to things, where you have those conversations with folks about what they want to do with their lives,鈥 Mucher says. 鈥淭here are so many people who I didn鈥檛 get to say goodbye to or have those conversations with.鈥

Wharry and classmates have developed a bent sense of humor about unfolding events. At the end of most days, they send texts鈥斺渃aptain鈥檚 logs鈥 in their parlance鈥攖hat summarize the mundane ways in which they are spending their time in self-quarantine. Entries are everything from pithy to uproarious: 鈥渨ent on a run,鈥 鈥渁te cereal for lunch,鈥 鈥渉ad an existential crisis nap in the middle of the afternoon.鈥

The sting of recent events, in spite of the balm of humor, isn鈥檛 so easily vanquished for Wharry: 鈥淎 lot of my senior year was getting through all-nighters by visualizing the act of walking across a stage and getting the diploma handed to me, and seeing my name on a program. It hurts a lot.鈥

For all the milestones disrupted by the coronavirus, it鈥檚 the everyday moments of campus life that many students miss the most: Before the coronavirus, Wharry recalls many seniors considering the thought of class reunions as 鈥渄orky.鈥 Now, she says, 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be so emotional and so profound because we鈥檝e all had such an absolutely wild end to our 色界吧 career.鈥

Faught wrote 鈥淭he Campaign for Community鈥 in the Fall 2019 issue.