#6 Postcards from Quarantine: Coronavirus Graduation
May 19, 2020
Coronavirus Graduation
Our son graduated from Boise State University last weekend. He opted to stay in Boise during the Pandemic and we watched the virtual commencement together with him via FaceTime. I commend the University for a successful, first of its kind, celebration. They did a great job and better than expected figuring we didn’t know what to expect. We are only one of many families right now making the best of challenging circumstances.
He is our first child and this is our first experience as parents of a college grad. It might sound cliché but we feel we graduated with him, living through all the firsts with a child moving away from home. To watch the transformation from high school to college grad, was a study in psychology, sociology, hard lessons, fun times, and finding balance as parents when to lean in and to back off. We failed at times, he failed at times, and we shared the successes. Mostly we learned how to be a family while apart.
I read an article on the economic impact of the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic published in 2007 by an Economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The article’s findings were similar to our experience today. Quarantine orders deeply impacted many businesses while others thrived during the downturn. Mortality rates around the country correlated to how quickly local communities moved to mitigate the spread such as closing schools and businesses with stay at home orders. Although we can’t compare actual economies in regards to monetary loss, we can surmise the impact was as devastating on the economy then as now. Not to mention the devastating effects of both viruses on human life then and now.
I found the article online in my desire to learn from history to understand where we’re headed as a country. The summary of the report makes a few statements that I cling to and paraphrase below:
· The 1918 influenza was short-lived and had a permanent influence…
· Society as a whole recovered but individuals who were affected had their lives change forever…
· Perhaps lessons learned from the past can help mitigate severity of future pandemics…
· A 2005 report suggests the USA is not prepared for a flu pandemic…
· Perhaps public education on flu mitigation…may be the best way to protect Americans…
If we are to learn from the past, a duality occurs when viewing the results of the 1918 pandemic. It was short lived and permanent. Society recovered but some individuals did not. Lessons from the past can mitigate future pandemic risks but only if learned. Education leads to protection.
If college is an immersive experience to allow students to focus on expanding their knowledge in a communal setting, then a pandemic puts all of us in school. It is the University of the World and we’re all registered in the same class, Coronavirus 101. Each day we are given material to read and study preparing for an exam to only find the next day the material has changed. The lessons are swift and surprising causing tension in what we perceive life to be versus what life is.
If you look slightly beyond the 1918 pandemic economic results, it eventually leads into the roaring 20’s. A period of time of social and political change and economic expansion. The optimist in me believes we are being equipped for something greater than before. A life beyond the walls of the University where we see life for what it is and what it can be. Family, friends, serving one another, and graduating into hope.
Photo by Terrence Thomas on Unsplash