May 11, 2020

Dear Wonderful Students,

We wanted to send you a letter during the last few days of the semester to say congratulations and to acknowledge all that you have been through. You are almost finished with this semester, a semester none of us could have predicted when registration opened in the Fall of 2019.

Audre Lorde once wrote, “Pain is important: how we evade it, how we succumb to it, how we deal with it, how we transcend it.” We are all suffering. We miss you, each other, our normal lives, and all of the opportunities we hoped to experience as students and teachers. The uncertainty and fear are perhaps two of the things that are most painful. There are no easy answers right now to all of our questions. In spite of this you have persevered. You have come to our lectures, done your homework, written papers, watched videos, listened to podcasts, and finished your readings. You did all of this while the world was spinning, and life was anything but normal.

The way you have managed to persevere is inspiring. Many of you have heavy academic loads, some of you are struggling to make ends meet, some of you have gotten ill, some of you have taken on additional care giving duties, some of you are battling with isolation and connection, some of you are far away from those that you love, others are graduating with what feels like little to no pomp and circumstance into a challenging economy. These are just a few of the trials we know you are navigating this semester.

In spite of these challenges you have attended classes, been graceful about our transition, cheered us on as professors as we tweaked assignments and tried to make on-line learning engaging. We want to thank you for this. You mean more to us than you might ever know. Being a teacher is one of the most rewarding professions, especially when students like you go on to light up the world. We have truly felt like we are in this together.

During these last few days of the semester try to stay focused on finishing strong. Take a deep breath and push through. This may mean a lot of different things. The contradictory message we also want to send is to take care of yourself. The big picture is important, but so are the small bits and pieces, all the smaller moments. You will look back on this year as one of the most pivotal moments in history. When you are old people will ask you what it was like to live through the COVID-19 pandemic. What story will you tell them? As professors we will tell them about you and your determination and encouragement, about your kindness, and all of the obstacles you overcame because you cared about your education and your community. We will tell them about your courage.

Finally, we want to say that when the university opens up for face to face teaching and learning we will welcome you back with open arms, even if you have graduated and you just want to visit. We miss you, we hope that you are safe and healthy, and we look forward to finishing up this semester.

In solidarity and health,

All the faculty of GWSS