1942 - 2021
Covering and Connecting
Jewish Detroit Every Week
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6 | SEPTEMBER 2 • 2021
continued from page 4
happy college life shifted dramatically.
Classes were transitioned to a virtual
format, which came with its share of
complications. My lovely dorm I had
been enjoying for the last five months
had to be emptied prematurely. I moved
out with the help of my family one rainy
afternoon, clad in masks and gloves. No
longer could I meet my friends in the
dining hall, hang out in the Hillel lounge
or simply walk about without a mask.
The changes hit me hard. My precious
independence I’
d gained over my time
in college was suddenly cut off, and
I was forced to resort to Zoom and
Facetime calls in order to connect with
my loved ones. School online was totally
new territory. Above all else, I felt I was
missing out, that I was squandering these
precious few years I had before I would
need to join the workforce and become a
full-fledged adult.
Being a student during the pandemic
has been a learning experience, one that
has certainly shaped more than just my
appreciation for the field of public health.
It made me appreciate the smaller aspects
of on-campus life I had previously taken
for granted, such as the ability to study
freely in a library or the chance to get
a meal with friends in the dining hall
before having a dorm movie night. It was
these little things I miss most.
It has now been over a year since I have
been inside of a classroom, over a year
since I have last been on campus. Now,
I am poised to return. The dawn of the
new fall semester rapidly approaches, and
I look forward to it with hope. While it
may not look like the student life I left
behind all those months ago in March
2020, it is a step toward healing from
the many rugged changes the pandemic
foisted upon our daily lives. It is a step on
the road to normalcy.
As I begin down this path, I walk with
a newfound appreciation for all things
small, a moment chatting with a friend, a
second in a library, and I thank God for
the opportunity to begin my college life
anew.
Loren Safta is a junior majoring in public health at
Wayne State University.
PURELY COMMENTARY
Locker Room Memories
I really appreciate Jeffrey London’s
reminiscence about the WB JCC’s
Locker Room in the health club
(Aug. 19, page 6). I also appreciate
his thoughtful and touching
comments about my Uncle Leo.
I was a member of the Oak Park
JCC for 21 years. We had the same
camaraderie and fellowship in our
locker room albeit for a shorter time.
There was nothing like the JCC
locker room in terms of building a
sense of community, which many of
us miss even more these days with
so many COVID-19 restrictions
still in place. It was a place where
people of different neighborhoods
and levels of religious observance
could all come together and share a
shvitz or watch a game.
The empty field along 10 Mile
Road makes the memory of our Oak
Park locker room that much more
special.
— Joshua A. Lerner
Huntington Woods
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