Me, Myself, and Michigan: A Response to COVID-19

On March 11, 2020 I boarded a plane from Detroit, MI to Las Vegas, NV shortly after hearing the news that Central Michigan University would be asking students to spend an extra week at home after spring break due to concerns about a COVID-19 outbreak. I couldn’t have been more excited about my “extra-long break” but had no idea what was to come shortly. Today, two months later, I am sitting on my bed in my parent’s house reflecting on the past weeks I’ve spent home. It seems like each day since then, more and more restrictions have been placed and the hope that things will return to normal soon has simmered down to nothing. I finished my second semester of my sophomore year of college online, and did so without my daily 8:00am organic chemistry lectures, weekly student organization meetings, my best friends and roommates, my lab classes, my job, or anything else that makes up the experience that I had while I was on campus. 

For me, something that has been put into perspective is how quickly things can come to an end. At the beginning of the spring 2020 semester, I started seeing a counselor in order to work on waking up in the morning for my 8:00am organic chemistry class. I knew that this would be a difficult class for me, but for some reason each morning I struggled to find the motivation to get out of bed and go. Just before spring break, I was finally showing great progress and able to reach my personal goal of attending every lecture. Now, it is almost laughable how hard I worked to get there thinking about how going to lectures was swiped away from me so quickly. It’s hard not to think about going back and telling myself that in a few months I’d miss being surrounded by my classmates and seeing my professors and wish that I took advantage of every opportunity to do so when I had the chance. 

While reminiscing about what I’ve missed out on in the past can be upsetting, the hardest part about living through a global pandemic is looking forward. Dr. Dan Vick, a faculty member in CMU’s College of Health Professions, believes that there is no telling when the virus will disappear or how long it could potentially take to develop a treatment, vaccine, or sustained immunity that’s accessible. For me personally, what’s even scarier is the economics of the pandemic and how the United States economy will recover from this unprecedented shut down that has caused the sharpest recession in history. Dr. Jason Taylor, an economics professor in CMU’s College of Business Administration, brought attention to many issues regarding this subject including the fact that stimulus checks can’t have a dramatic impact on the economy when it’s shut down, “pent-up demand” may not be a factor in recovery, and this could potentially ignite the end of globalization. Not to mention, it seems that our country has never been more divided politically and the trust in our government is lower than ever. 

Pictured here is a protester during the COVID-19 pandemic. Female appears to be wearing personal protective equipment and social distancing properly but is unhappy with the restrictions in place.

Recently, in the state of Michigan, protesters have gone to extremes to show our government officials how discontent they are with the stay-at-home order and its implications. Many of these people believe that its unconstitutional to confine people to their homes and close their businesses. It is interesting to think that we live in a time that protesting could be frowned upon or worse, punishable. (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52496514) Politically, there is a huge divide in how people believe the situation should be handled. 

In a time like this, I believe that it is ever-so important to work to find a balance. In this case, finding a balance between preserving our economy while also prioritizing the health and safety of our community, especially those who may be high-risk or immunocompromised, is the best route. As of today, May 10, 2020, Governor Whitmer has extended the stay-at-home order for Michigan residents until May 28th. In Michigan, we should be allowing for the majority of businesses to remain open while encouraging social distancing and mandating the usage of personal protective equipment such as masks and gloves. Now more than ever, it is imperative that we all keep an open mind to solutions, continue to be compassionate, and take care of each other in every way that we can.