Students Reflect on Getting Sent Home, One Year Later

Gabriel Sickler ’23 remembers exactly where he was on March 10, 2020 at 7:31 p.m. “I was in Noble, I think I was just doing some work there,” Sickler said. “I got the email and I just instantly called my mom. I just looked around me and every other person that I saw was on the phone.”

President Fox had just sent an email to the entire St. Lawrence student body sharing that all courses would become remote after spring break. The severity of the COVID-19 pandemic was growing, and numerous cases had been reported in New York State. Other universities across the country announced they were moving to remote learning after their respective spring breaks as well.

St. Lawrence originally planned to restart in-person classes later in April, but it was never safe to do so as numbers of COVID-19 cases kept climbing. 

Sickler was shocked at the news that students were being sent home for more than just a week. “I just didn’t really know what to expect, I didn’t know what was coming next,” he said. “It was kind of worrying, because all our classes were in-person, so how were we going to continue this?”

The last few days on campus Sickler tried to make the most of the situation. “I just spent a lot of time with every friend group I had, every person that I’d come in contact with I was like, okay, we gotta hang out at least once,” he said. “I think I was actually able to hang out with every single person I knew.”

Looking back, Sickler says he did not think one year later the pandemic would still effect everyday life. “It’s still going on, like I think everyone was like, okay, we will be back in the fall and it will be normal again.”

Also on campus in March 2020 was Sarah Stewart ’21. “I honestly think I blocked a lot of that whole situation out because it was incredibly disheartening and stressful,” she said of receiving the email. “The thought of going remote was also stressful since I personally haven’t done any online schooling. It was very uncertain.”

As a Community Assistant, Stewart had a lot of work during the last week on campus, and lacked the usual details she gets prior to normal breaks. “Usually as a CA, I do have a bit more information about aspects of campus life or I get notified a little bit before everyone else,” she said. “In this case, I don’t think I was any more prepared than my residents or the rest of campus. This pandemic is something none of us had prior experience with.”

Looking back on the year is disheartening for Stewart. “We haven’t moved past [the pandemic], and rather than changing life for a few weeks we have had to learn a semi-permanent way to survive. I feel much more stressed all the time and I certainly miss being able to spend time with all my friends.” However, as more people are able to get the vaccine, including Stewart, she is feeling more hopeful.

Across the Atlantic Ocean, Sarina Wilson ’21 had to leave her semester abroad in Denmark after then-President Trump suspended travel to and from Europe. “I was with all SLU people,” she remembered. “The prime minister had just decided that all schools were going to be cancelled, for younger kids, and all the colleges in Denmark, so we all knew the email was coming.”

It was hard for Wilson to say goodbye to Copenhagen and her host family, even though she expected to be sent home as COVID-19 cases increased in Europe. “Everyone was very sad,” she said. “I ended up having to quarantine for the last few days, so it was a sad way to end the abroad experience cause we weren’t able to go outside.”

It was a stressful time, according to Wilson, due to having to book return flights quickly. Wilson also remembered how she and her fellow classmates were in a “bubble” while abroad. “We didn’t really realize how bad it truly was.”

Even though she lost part of her abroad experience, Wilson gained something. “I learned how to adapt to change and stay positive in all situations,” she said.