‘It’s not a dream.’ Berea students, faculty describe sudden final week.
For seniors at Berea College, student life ended abruptly this week.
The Madison County private college’s move to close the campus for the remaining weeks of the semester because of concern over the growing coronavirus pandemic, propelled many students from the routine of college life to the uncertainty of job searching.
“It’s not a dream, this is reality, this is really occurring,” said Kaylee Robinson, a now-graduating Berea senior from Ashland. She described her sudden final week on campus as a “roller coaster of emotion.” Robinson said she was proud of her college’s preemptive decision to cancel classes, but said she was sad to be suddenly saying goodbye to many of her friends.
Berea College was the first college in the state to officially cancel classes on Tuesday. A day later, several other Kentucky colleges and universities, including the University of Kentucky, announced moves to online classes in upcoming weeks. According to spokesperson Tim Jordan, between 20 and 25 percent of the Berea student body does not have access to internet at home, making it difficult for the college to fully support online distance learning.
On-campus classes officially ended on Friday at 5 p.m. and students who weren’t planning on staying in the dorms had to checkout by noon on Saturday, an email from Berea President Lyle Roelofs stated. About 200 of the college’s approximately 1,600 students applied to stay on campus until they can make other arrangements, Jordan said. Many of those students are international students who may not be able to easily travel home on short notice.
Robinson said the dining hall she was in erupted in shouting and clapping when the college first announced the campus’s preemptive closure on Tuesday. For her that excitement gave way to sadness and anxiety, she said. The reality of the situation sank in while she was at an impromptu commencement ceremony.
Seniors were told to pick up their caps and gowns on Thursday, Robinson said. On Friday, many of them donned their tassles and cords and decorated their graduation caps to take photos together as a class.
“I’m going to be saying goodbye to a lot of people that I care about,” said Robinson, a health and human performance major and member of the track team. She said she’s glad to be going home, but she’s sad she won’t be able to see her friends everyday like she did at Berea. Robinson and her dorm roommate had a “cryfest” on Thursday when they realized it would likely be their last night together.
Students received an advance on their student-worker paychecks to help pay for unexpected travel expenses and the college offered a free student shuttle to Blue Grass Airport. On Friday and Saturday students packed up their belongings and rolled them out of dorms in moving carts and in office chairs.
Silas House, an author and Berea professor, said the students “have held up well in terrible circumstances that nobody can help.”
“The saddest thing for me has been the seniors,” House said. He pointed out that many seniors majoring in fine arts degrees won’t have their work displayed or won’t be able to perform in senior shows. “They’ve worked their whole college careers toward that goal.”
House said the student reaction that he’s gathered has been one of “extreme disappointment but an understanding that this is the best thing for everybody.”
“I’m really proud of Berea College and the way that the administration has handled everything,” House said.
Faculty have been instructed to find ways to help students to complete coursework by the end of the semester. House said many professors have been focused on trying to give students the best possible education experience given the circumstances. In his class he said all of his students will have the internet access to complete online distance learning.
Veronica Mauratic, a Berea sophomore moving out on Friday, said that many of her classes on campus are discussion-based, which will be hard to replicate online. She said her hands-on robotics classes will switch to be more research oriented.
Jessica Beisecker, also a sophomore, said most of her classes will require submitting papers sometime in the final six or seven weeks of the semester.
Beisecker is from Montana and said she’ll have to travel through four different airports to get home.
When Robinson gets back to Ashland she said she plans to start working out with her little sister, a softball player and junior at Ashland High School.
Robinson said her goal is to become a personal trainer and she’s hoping her degree and her previous on-campus job as a fitness counselor will help her earn her certification.
The college is still planning to have a commencement celebration for its seniors when “we know when that can be safely done, but we may be able to share a tentative plan in the new future,” an email from Roelofs stated.
This story was originally published March 14, 2020 at 4:10 PM.