T

he future is disturbingly 

uncertain, yet it’s the only 

thing to think about. When 

will things go back to normal? Soon, 

but also never. This generation of 

young people will be feeling the 

effects of the pandemic for a long 

time and the experience of living 

through it is going to shape the way 

they see their lives and the world 

forever. College seniors — who had 

their last months on campus and 

their graduation taken away by 

COVID-19 and are graduating into 

an uncertain world and floundering 

economy — are undoubtedly in 

a unique situation. Juniors, on 

the 
other 
hand, 

narrowly 
escaped 

that 
experience 

and instead have a 

one-year buffer.

Juniors 
have 

been given a unique 

circumstance. 

They 
are 

experiencing 

those 
shocking 

withdrawals from 

college 
which 

are 
traditionally 

associated 
with 

seniors, yet they 

still have one more shot. Three 

years on campus have felt like all of 

eternity. Most of us are at a point 

where our high school friendships 

have narrowed down to just a few 

and our college circles are the 

biggest parts of our lives. We are 

now geographically scattered, much 

as we will be after graduation.

Yet, we will return to campus in 

the fall for a school year unlike any 

other. It will have been the longest 

we have ever been apart from our 

college friends and restarting our 

normal activities will feel like a 

reunion.

After 
returning 
from 
online 

classes, we will likely have less 

of an itch to pull out our phones 

under the table. We will know how 

valuable in-person learning is after 

our 
attempted 
month-and-a-half 

of 
awkward 
Zoom 
discussions. 

When assigned a group project, 

rather than being annoyed with the 

difficult task of finding a common 

meeting time, we might just be 

glad we get to interact with our 

classmates in person.

After three years in the same spot, 

college seniors of past years may 

have been itching to leave campus. 

Everything they wanted to try was 

done and every place they wanted to 

see was seen. The horrible landlord 

was frustrating, the late nights at 

the library were exhausting, the 

same catered pizza at every campus 

event was bland. That won’t be the 

case for the class of 2021. We aren’t 

going to feel like we’ve outgrown 

our campus because we won’t be 

taking any moment for granted.

It’s possible that after reuniting 

with our friends, we will feel like 

the college students we were before 

the pandemic. However, given the 

scale of this event, it’s impact isn’t 

going to disappear from our daily 

lives. The landscape of Ann Arbor 

may feel different with more local 

businesses gone. We still won’t be 

at ease, being close to others in 

large groups. Our personal finances 

will be in a different place than 

expected. Sadly, some of our peers 

and 
colleagues 

will be mourning 

someone whose life 

was taken by the 

virus. 
Everything 

we do on campus 

for our final year is 

going to be at least a 

little bit different. 

It will certainly be 

filled 
with 
more 

gratitude.

Of 
course, 
we 

didn’t get to say 

goodbye 
to 
the 

seniors in the way 

we wanted to. That’s one thing 

that cannot be done over. The 

class of 2021 had the 2020 seniors 

by our side for our entire college 

experience. They are our mentors, 

role models and friends. Seeing 

their time at Michigan closed out 

abruptly without celebration felt 

personal to us. Our friends who 

we looked to for advice on future 

courses, housing and internships 

are now facing great economic 

uncertainties. We looked to them to 

watch how our future might unfold, 

and they can no longer serve as a 

guide to us. 

Thinking 
long-term, 
this 

generation, mostly Generation Z, 

is never going to forget what it was 

like to be a young person during the 

pandemic. The rapid transition to 

distanced communication and the 

uncertain future will be the same 

memory in the minds of all school-

aged young people no matter what 

grade they were in. The unique 

position of college juniors is that 

we have exactly one year left of our 

education. It feels like everything 

has fallen apart right at the end, but 

we have two semesters to piece it all 

back together again and find some 

semblance of normalcy. In 2021, 

we are going to have a graduation 

ceremony, and it won’t feel like just 

a formality.

4 — Thursday, April 9, 2020
Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Alanna Berger
Zack Blumberg

Brittany Bowman
Emily Considine
Jess D’Agostino

Jenny Gurung
Cheryn Hong
Krystal Hur
Ethan Kessler
Zoe Phillips
Mary Rolfes

Michael Russo
Timothy Spurlin
Miles Stephenson

Joel Weiner
Erin White 

ERIN WHITE
Managing Editor

Stanford Lipsey Student Publications Building

420 Maynard St. 

Ann Arbor, MI 48109

 tothedaily@michigandaily.com

Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.

ELIZABETH LAWRENCE

Editor in Chief

EMILY 
CONSIDINE 
AND 
MILES 

STEPHENSON
Editorial Page Editors

Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of The Daily’s Editorial Board. 

All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS

LEAH ADELMAN | COLUMN

Class of 2021, post-pandemic

Leah Adelman can be reached at 

ladelman@umich.edu.

W 

ith 
the 
current 

COVID-19 
public 

health 
crisis, 
it’s 

become particularly clear that the 

pandemic reaches beyond being 

just a highly contagious, viral 

disease or issue of community 

spread. 
The 
coronavirus 

pandemic effectively stratified 

the population into its different 

social identities and personalities 

based on the impact on specific 

communities. While the United 

States may be a melting pot, the 

virus has made evident these 

pre-existing divisions within a 

community.

These 
“new” 
categories 

or groups make us aware of 

identities and statuses we may 

not have considered within the 

standard set of “social identities.” 

We tend to consider communities 

based on where someone is 

living. Especially for millennials, 

the 
COVID-19 
public 
health 

crisis is an incredible teaching 

moment. The current state of 

the world shows us the ways 

in which disease and illness 

impact 
us 
disproportionately. 

Typically 
when 
discussing 

social 
identities, 
there’s 
the 

standard “social identity wheel.” 

This circle includes 11 sectors: 

ethnicity, 
race, 
religious 
or 

spiritual affiliation, age, physical, 

emotional, developmental ability, 

first language, national origin, 

sexual orientation, sex, gender 

and socioeconomic status. It’s 

easy to view identities as rigid 

categories when it’s important to 

instead shift and look at identities 

as a spectrum. 

Alongside the 11 identities 

listed, COVID-19 proved that 

occupation, 
encompassing 

job security and income, is an 

identity that is affected unequally. 

Additionally, whether or not 

you are essential personnel or a 

non-essential worker is another 

division brought to light due to 

COVID-19. These are examples 

of identity that, while associated 

with the socioeconomic part 

of the social identity wheel, 

aren’t always visible to the eye 

and therefore aren’t taken into 

account on a daily basis.

Another 
example 
within 

a 
global 
context 
reported 

by the Center for Strategic 

and 
International 
Studies 
is 

“The Impact of COVID-19 on 

Humanitarian 
Crises.” 
Due 

to travel restrictions, refugee 

resettlement 
programs 
are 

temporarily halted. Additionally, 

migrants and refugees are often in 

living situations that do not allow 

for social distancing to flatten the 

curve. Personally, immigration 

status is an identity that, as a U.S. 

citizen, I do not think about often. 

This is a privilege because, in this 

day and age, immigration status 

determines the level of public 

health care you’re able to receive.

Even on our campus, being 

a local business owner in Ann 

Arbor is particularly difficult 

right now because most of the 

campus community has gone 

home, and the people that are still 

in Ann Arbor are mostly staying 

at home. This means that the 

usual customers aren’t coming in 

and the unfortunate reality is that 

rent is still due on the first of the 

month. For example, welcoming 

spaces like aUM Yoga or MVMT 

which many University students 

frequently attend, are completely 

shut down. However, both studios 

are creating videos to make 

content virtually accessible to 

all. For those University students 

who are dependent on places 

like aUM or MVMT to prioritize 

both 
mental 
and 
physical 

wellness must seek this in new 

forms. There are local farms 

and produce-growers across the 

country within the agricultural 

industry 
offering 
contact-free 

curbside delivery of items that 

may no longer be available in big 

brand grocery stores. However, 

farm owners are still struggling 

to find innovative ways to sell 

their crops and produce revenue 

during this uncertain time. 

Additionally, this is a terrifying 

time for health care professionals 

fighting on the front lines against 

COVID-19. 
Now 
more 
than 

ever, the world is depending on 

health care professionals to be 

superheroes. There are doctors 

living in tents in their garages 

to prevent spreading the virus 

to their family members. There 

are pregnant ER doctors who 

risked not just their health but 

the health of their child in order 

to care for their patients with 

COVID-19. Furthermore, with 

the lack of personal protective 

equipment (PPE) available, it 

is time to re-evaluate reality — 

there is not enough support for 

our health care professionals.

Take this time to learn about 

how 
this 
pandemic 
affects 

different identities and what you 

can do to help. Look around you 

and take note of the widespread 

impacts that stretch far beyond 

the symptoms of cough, fever 

and shortness of breath. Practice 

being mindful of all identities 

and groups; we are more than 

what’s found within the social 

identity wheel. Start making a 

list of all the efforts being made 

to help health care workers and 

those affected by COVID-19. 

When we’re able to return to new 

normalcy, let’s return the support 

to 
these 
organizations 
and 

institute preventative measures 

to protect small businesses and 

health care professionals in the 

future.

To 
my 
fellow 
graduating 

seniors, 
no 
matter 
how 

heartbreaking it may be to end 

four years on such an uncertain 

note, let’s take this as a hands-

on opportunity in whatever field 

or line of study you’re pursuing 

post-graduation to learn how to 

improve the current systems in 

place. If you’re pursuing health 

care or medicine, this is the time 

to start thinking about how we 

can better deliver health care to 

all affected groups and identities. 

If you’re pursuing business, this 

is the time to find creative ways 

to fund small businesses before 

entering 
times 
of 
economic 

decline? In times of emergencies 

like these, it’s up to us to apply 

our 
University 
of 
Michigan 

educations to find ways to bridge 

these divisions.

How COVID-19 further highlights disparities

VARNA KODOTH | COLUMN

Varna Kodoth can be reached 

at vkodoth@umich.edu.

Look around you 
and take note of 
the widespread 

impacts that 

stretch far beyond 

the symptoms. 

CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION

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Send the writer’s full name and 

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tothedaily@michigandaily.com.

They are 

experiencing 
those shocking 

withdrawals from 

college which 
are traditionally 
associated with 
seniors, yet they 

have one more shot. 

