I turned the key, and my car purred to life. It had been a little more than a week since I had left my house, let alone driven. The headlights illuminated the small forest of trees in my backyard. I connected my phone to the speaker and glanced over at my 17-year-old brother, John, in the passenger seat. We needed to escape our parents just for the night.
On Tuesday, March 10, Miami students were informed via an email from President Greg Crawford that classes would be moving online for the rest of the semester. Shortly before that, that same news found its way to the ears of the university’s many professors telling them to prepare to move classes online.
Each day’s rhythm remains consistent. The day begins with morning meetings for Oliver’s preschool class, then each parent either works with him or prepares for their own classes. There’s a more relaxed lunch period to cook meals together, then some self-designated quiet time, so Legg and Strantz can get work done while Oliver is occupied with a book or iPad.
For the past three years, Miami’s World Creativity and Innovation Week (WCIW) organization has built Creativity City on the front lawn of the Farmer School of Business. Last year, each exhibit or “property” was marked by a set of backdrops designed to look like the brick exteriors of campus buildings. Properties featured different student organizations and activities to exercise creative thinking. There was even a pedal wagon making rounds on the streets of campus and Oxford.
While quarantined, many students have taken to their Instagram stories, posting bingo cards, motivational quotes and songs they’re listening to. Junior marketing and entrepreneurship major Sam Christie had a different idea. A lover of all sorts of games, Christie started having regular game nights with his friends earlier this semester. When he had to go back to his hometown of Brentwood, Tennessee, he was disappointed he wouldn’t be able to continue the game nights, especially the one he had planned for his birthday.
With the transition to remote learning and the uncertainty of the future of academic life, Miami University students have many questions about how this pandemic will impact the remainder of their academic spring semester and beyond.
As students grapple with online classes, the stay-at-home order and a generally different lifestyle than they thought they’d be living, the adjustment to pandemic life has proven to be unprecedented. Throughout the transition, Dean of Students Kimberly Moore has sent several university-wide emails which include information on resources and updates about student affairs. The Office of the Dean of Students’ website states the office provides many resources for “students’ intellectual growth and personal development.” Dean Moore, having dealt with many coronavirus-related student life issues, has these suggestions and pieces of advice for students:
I took some time out of my very busy schedule (of WebExing into classes for two hours a week and trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my time) to compile all of the quality films streaming on Amazon Prime, HBO Go, Hulu and Netflix right now. The Student will be releasing my recommendations in weekly installments until the end of the semester. This week, we have true-crime documentaries, fun documentaries and dramas for you.
Oxford City Council began hosting its meetings virtually on Thursday, April 9. This change may continue until after the stay-at-home order is lifted.
Following the amended announcement, students had who already left campus were told not to return to campus to retrieve their items until first contacting their dorm’s Resident Director (RD). With the stay-at-home order for Ohioans extended to May 1, students will not be permitted to return to campus to get their belongings at this time, Director of Residence Life Vicka Bell-Robinson said.
Miami University will receive $12.9 million from the federal government as part of the CARES Act, a novel coronavirus economic stimulus package. Half of those funds, about $6.5 million, must go directly to students.
When Miami University President Greg Crawford decided to move classes online for the rest of the semester on March 13, the Miami community was thrown into a state of uncertainty. Because the current situation is unprecedented, both students and faculty have had to navigate the world of online learning on their own. Needless to say, the transition has been easier for some than others.
This Tuesday, Miami University’s Associated Student Government (ASG) will hold its first online all-senate meeting since the university closed due to novel coronavirus concerns.
Just past the winding turns of Melissa Drive in Oxford, a small red mailbox sits out in front of one of the homes. Inside, the custom-built mailbox is full of novels, children's books and an array of reading material. On the outside of the mailbox, a sign reads, “Santa’s Little Free Library Take a Book — Leave a Book.”
For many Christians, Easter Sunday is a day to come together to celebrate with their church community with large services, egg hunts and other festivities.
Since students were asked to leave Miami University’s campus, the locally-owned food delivery service Oxford to You has taken a hit in sales revenue.
The Oxford City Council unanimously passed a resolution that would encourage the Area I Court of Butler County, located on High Street, to suspend evictions caused by the novel coronavirus for at least 60 days after the stay-at-home order is lifted.
Miami University President Greg Crawford sent out a university-wide email announcing the decision to move all face-to-face instruction online for the rest of the spring semester on Friday, March 13, due to the threat of the novel coronavirus. Three days later, Dean of Students Kimberly Moore sent out an email with the message, “We strongly urge you to promptly leave campus while you are able to do so.”
The streets of Oxford are quiet. Uptown no longer bustles on Friday nights. High Street businesses that stay open late are closing earlier and, in some cases, closing up shop all together until Governor Mike DeWine’s stay-at-home order is lifted. But still, some Miami University upperclassmen remain in Oxford, living in the homes they rented through the end of the semester. For students living in apartment complexes, the stay-at-home order means restricted access to amenities they’ve already paid for.
Producing theater is no cheap or easy feat, but that didn’t stop five Miami University students from teaming up last fall to launch a new theater company in Oxford. New Wave Theatre Company is an entirely student-run theatrical production group adjacent to Miami. Established in the fall of 2019, the group's mission is to produce a series of student-written and student-produced shows each year, with the goal of championing new works and new voices among the Miami community.