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 Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor and op-eds. Letters should be fewer than 300 words while op-eds should be 550 to 850 words. Send the writer’s full name and University affiliation to tothedaily@michigandaily.com. They are experiencing those shocking withdrawals from college which are traditionally associated with seniors, yet they have one more shot.