With COVID-19 raging across the world causing sickness and death, Stanislaus State leaders announced on March 16, 2020, that it would temporarily shift to predominately virtual operations, with most students, faculty and staff learning and working from home, and a few critical operations and programs continuing on campus.
Nobody knew at that time the campus would continue remote operations for the rest of the semester, for the entire 2020-21 academic year, and that in-person instruction would be delayed at the beginning of both semesters of the 2021-22 academic year.
The campus community is invited to remember that day, and all the days that followed, at “Rising Warriors: A Celebration of Resiliency, Perseverance and Healing,” from noon-1 p.m. Wednesday, March 23 at the Student Center Warrior Lawn.
The site is where the last pre-COVID campuswide celebration was held, in February 2020, for the opening of the University Student Center.
Rising Warriors, organized by the Stan State Resilience and Well-Being Task Force, will feature food, brief comments by speakers, information tables highlighting available resources and free Warrior Strong T-shirts courtesy of University Advancement.
Task force member and Disability Resource Services Director Marvin Williams had the idea for the event.
“What’s weird is we’ve been through something, but we haven’t said anything about what we’ve been through,” Williams said. “That failure to acknowledge it just seemed really strange to me. Life has changed for so many of us and we’re not saying anything about it. It’s the elephant in the room. We can’t ignore it and pretend this is just another semester.”
Williams presented his idea to task force leaders, and student co-chair and Associated Students, Inc. President Cynella Aghasi shared the idea with student task force members.
“They also really wanted to do something in person to recognize everything we’ve gone through and something that would showcase all the resources that are available to students,” Aghasi said. “I wanted to help plan this event and gather as many people as we could. I know it was short notice, but we wanted to do it at this time to resemble the time we left campus.”
Two years and one week to the date of transitioning to remote operations, “Rising Warriors: A Celebration of Resiliency, Perseverance and Healing,” will remember that moment, acknowledge where we are now and look forward to the continued recovery from an unprecedented experience.
With updated guidelines in place making wearing outdoor face coverings optional, attendees can be mask-free. Face coverings, Aghasi said, have made students’ return to campus challenging.
“You walk by people and aren’t sure who it is, or they can’t see you smiling at them,” she said.
That has led to the somberness Williams has seen, but he looks to Rising Warriors as a first step to changing that.
“We’re doing this together,” Williams said. “As isolated as we’ve all been, we’re doing this together. I think it’s important to let people know about the Resilience and Well-Being Task Force, to let people know that beyond the pandemic, we’re looking at things that are happening that are impacting our campus community.”
Food insecurity, sustainability and social justice are just some of the issues the task force plans to address as COVID-19 disruptions to our lives abate.
“It’s almost like we’re waking up,” Williams said.
