Photo by Cindy Cui
We have seen many drastic changes amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, including the closure of several Ontario universities, the introduction of travel bans and a decline in group gatherings. This has forced many people to quickly adapt — for example, students are learning online, grocery stores have limited the number of toilet paper rolls you can buy and people are being restricted to their homes. Physical distancing, which involves minimizing contact with others, has affected societal norms to the point where we have changed the way that we are communicating. However, despite being physically distant, communities seem to be more tight-knit than ever. This has made me wonder — why can’t things always be this way?
I’ve seen a surge of Instagram stories and posts pop up on social media that are very different from the norm. Usually, I see carefully curated Instagram profiles, posts of places people are vacationing and aesthetic coffee dates. However, because most people are self-quarantining, we are unable to make those posts anymore. Instead, I’ve seen more intimate posts, ranging from self-love selfie challenges to posts appreciating others and even to open posts offering FaceTime chats to anyone who may feel isolated during this time.
During this particularly isolating time, I’ve seen many more people reaching out to their loved ones. In fact, one of my friends has scheduled video calls with her family just so they can update each other on their lives. Despite the fact that we can no longer see each other in-person, I’ve had more friends reach out and talk to me because they want to check up on me or just get to know me better as a person. We’ve become increasingly connected despite the distance, and hopefully this is something we can continue to do when we’re no longer quarantined in our homes.
These individual actions and growing trends may seem insignificant during an ongoing pandemic, but many individuals taking these small actions in their lives can have a large impact on our community. One silver lining of COVID-19 is that this pandemic has truly brought the community together to care for those who need it most. For example, the McMaster Healthcare Students COVID-19 Response Team, an initiative created by McMaster University medical student Mary Boulos, is helping healthcare workers on the front line with errands they are currently unable to manage themselves. Student volunteers are helping healthcare workers with things such as child care, pet-sitting and groceries, among other things. Because of this initiative, healthcare workers such as nurses, doctors and hospital staff can focus on providing care to COVID-19 patients and not have to worry about taking care of their family and potentially infecting them.
Initiatives like these are not something people would usually dream of in a normal setting. When else would someone babysit your child for free because you’re swamped at work? If you need someone to take care of your child, the median cost for child care centres in Ontario is $1152 per month for an infant and $835 per month for a preschooler. Another option would be to hire a babysitter if you need someone for an on-and-off basis. However, because students have gained a lot more time on our hands due to in-person classes and extracurricular events being cancelled, they are able to provide free support for others.
Helping out our community comes in many forms. You can see it through in-person interactions such as the ones I’ve just mentioned, but you can also see it in other forms. For example, the McMaster University Campus Store is now providing free access to course materials until April 30. The Hamilton Street Railway is also asking people to board busses from the rear doors to protect their drivers and providing free transit until at least April 5. The Canadian government is also providing the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, which provides workers with a taxable benefit of $2000 per month for up to four months if their income has been impacted by COVID-19.
All these initiatives are in light of the current struggles that many people are facing due to the pandemic. I’ve seen so many people be more considerate, kind and forgiving because we’re all going through a very difficult time. But it also makes me wonder why we couldn’t have these safety nets and forms of support in the first place. This pandemic was a harsh lesson of how to be compassionate and kind to others when we all have to adapt to harsh circumstances.
So far, we know that we are capable of reaching out to others to provide support during a very scary and isolating time that everyone is facing in different ways. We know we can show compassion to others on an individual level by checking in on loved ones or even forming new friendships. We also know that the university is able to provide free access to textbooks, that free transit has been provided in the worst circumstances and that the government can support those in need of a livable income.
Maybe we didn’t realize we could accomplish these things in the first place and provide that safety net for people who need it most. But moving forward, we should remember that during a pandemic, we were capable of supporting each other. And that after all of this is over, we can and should do better when caring for our communities.
On March 24, McMaster announced that this year’s spring convocation ceremonies, previously scheduled from May 19 to June 12, will be postponed. Instead, virtual celebrations will be planned to comply with the need for physical distancing amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
The press release assured students that an in-person ceremony will be held at a later date, but did not specify what this ceremony would entail.
This is one of many measures being put in place to limit the spread of COVID-19. On March 17, the provincial government declared a state of emergency in Ontario, and banned all gatherings of more than 50 people. Stronger action has been taken since then, with the Ontario government prohibiting gatherings of more than five people as of March 28.
Online convocation celebrations are currently being planned, but it is not yet clear how these will proceed. It has also not been confirmed how students will receive their parchment degrees.
“We recognize that Convocation is an important and special event for graduands, our award recipients and their families, and we are actively developing plans for both the online and in-person celebrations,” stated the release on Mac DailyNews.
It was also confirmed that the timing of graduation and degree conferral will not be changed, and that those eligible to graduate will do so on time.
Adrianna Michell, who was slated to be the Valedictorian for the Humanities class of 2020 and is also the Features reporter at the Silhouette, believes that the university made the right call by cancelling the in-person ceremony. However, she still found the news disappointing.
“There’s a global pandemic and objectively convocation doesn’t matter at an equal proportion, but it’s still something that I cared about and other students cared about, especially first generation students and their families, and marginalized students and their families. It is an important thing when you’ve faced systemic barriers preventing you from university or that make it harder to complete a university degree,” she said.
Aleigha Kampman, who will be graduating this year with a combined honours in political science and health studies, was looking forward to convocation as a form of closure.
“Convocation for me was the chance to say goodbye to friends that I didn’t realize I would be seeing for the last time, and professors I never got to thank or who I had become close to over my four years,” she said.
According to both Kampman and Michell, the only communication that graduands have received from the university are the posts on Mac DailyNews.
McMaster is not the only university to cancel or delay convocation due to COVID-19. On March 25, the university of Toronto announced via a series of tweets that convocation ceremonies would be cancelled outright, without being postponed to a later date. Furthermore, York University, the University of Regina and McGill University are some of the other universities to announce plans to postpone or cancel spring convocation ceremonies.
“I think we have to make hard decisions, and one is that we have to miss out on things that we were looking forward to. Life can’t continue business as usual, it’s still okay to feel upset about it or feel like you’re missing out on an important part of your university experience, but it is the right decision,” said Michell.
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