My First Event Back on Campus

Since I've been back in Lexington, I haven't gone to any events on or off campus. I was kind of nervous but also knew things wouldn't be the same so why bother? I've been quite bored until my friend convinced me to attend a probate with her this past weekend. For those of you who don't know what a probate is, a probate is a new member presentation where new members present history of their NPHC organization and reveal who they are to those watching. These are always so fun to watch and it's very exciting for members of that particular organization and other members of greek life. They held the probate outside which was comforting and had cones designating what was 6 feet apart for social distancing measures. They also had designated entrances and exits and had people check in using their link blue at the entrance. Masks were also required the entire time. Everything looked pretty promising until it became crowded. 

Above is a picture I took at the probate. There are clusters of people when they're all supposed to be sitting 6 feet apart by the cones. The young woman in the bottom left corner also has her mask pulled all the way down as well as some others throughout the crowd. Not pictured is more clusters of people throughout the venue. Since it was outside a lot of people came in through the exit, but at the end of the show mostly everyone left at the designated exits after an announcement was made. 

Overall, I think this was managed pretty well other than the many clusters of people. Events on campus will continuously be held with guidelines such as making check in mandatory, having designated entrances and exits, wearing masks, and social distancing. However, I think there needs to be a capacity for those attending events. That's the only way to ensure that people are spread apart enough and to prevent these large clusters seen above. The event itself was still enjoyable even with all the COVID-19 prevention guidelines, but things need to be ran a little more strict if events such as these are to continue throughout the semester. 

Will UK be Completely Virtual by the End of the Semester?

 As a University of Kentucky student, I've gotten a unique look at how things are ACTUALLY happening on campus. After the first few weeks of observing, I do think that we will be able to continue in-person lecture through the end of the semester. Currently some classes are completely online while others have a hybrid format or are in person. Personally, majority of my classes are online and others are hybrid. The hybrid courses give the option to be in zoom instead of meeting in person which is really convenient. When I am on campus, I see majority of people wearing their masks. However, there are always some people with it below their nose or not wearing a mask at all. It doesn't seem like the masks rule is strictly enforced everywhere on campus which is concerning. 

Additionally, I think students should be tested often for COVID-19 because they could test negative one week and have it the next week. It was smart for the second phase of testing to include those involved in greek life getting retested because at other schools a lot of COVID clusters started at frat parties or things of that nature. I know a few people who attended frat parties recently and weren't wearing masks and definitely weren't social distancing. If the University decides to make tests required for all students every two weeks or even weekly, I think that the chances of keeping the spread to a minimum would be a lot higher. 

A big reason why I think that we will not have to go completely online is because the lack of off campus activity. There has been a lot of talk circulating around campus about the fact that people are scared to have parties because of the possibility of being suspended or expelled. Surprisingly, people have kept gatherings small enough to go undetected by UK police or Lexington police. I think that if people continue not hosting parties that the chances of an outbreak will be at a minimum. I also think that it's smart for organizations such as SAB to offer activities virtually so people are still able to participate. When they do host in person activities, they're held in places where social distancing can be enforced which is really important as well. 

Retesting students, daily wellness screening, enforcing social distancing and wearing masks are key things that will help us make it through the semester without having to be completely online. Be smart, be safe, and be cautious of those around you!

Future Scholars, it's Nice to Meet You

 I could start this blog by jumping right into COVID-19 talk and how it affects me, but who exactly am I? Well for starters, my name is Jordan Redding and I'm a 20 year old junior at the University of Kentucky. Typically, people look forward to their junior year of college because they usually turn 21, are half way done with undergrad, and can call themselves upperclassmen. So what am I supposed to look forward to this year? I can't go out to bars and party on my 21st birthday...I'm halfway done with undergrad but it feels like I'm starting something brand new...but why is this year so different? This pandemic has thrown everyone into a whirlwind of change that no one was ready for.

I've given you a slight glimpse as to who I am, but here's another: I'm an African American female. Now if we're being technical, I'm a lot more than just black, but to the bare eye no one would know that. Unless it's the middle of July and my skin is glowing from the deep brown rich tan I have and my natural curly hair is blowing through the wind. This might not seem like it makes a huge difference but I'll explain why it does. Picture this: a man who is Cuban, Dominican, Filipino, and West Indian marries a woman who is black and Irish. They have a daughter who has a child with a man who is black. That child is me. People often wonder why I don't tan like "the average black girl" or why my hair texture isn't as kinky as other black girls when I identify as black and this is why. I absolutely love my heritage and if you were ever around my family, you'd quickly see that. But off of looks you'd think I'm just an African American young woman. Biology has a weird way of expressing traits you inherit from your parents now doesn't it?

So now that that's covered, let's take a deeper dive into who I am. Here we go: I come from a middle class family from the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. I've lived a pretty comfortable life: got a brand new car before my 16th birthday, always lived in a nice house, holidays are filled with love and joy. Thankfully, I have never had to deal with any hardships, until I woke up one day living in a global pandemic.

My family consists mostly of engineers and nurses, so from the nurses in my family (who risk their lives everyday) I've gotten a pretty good outlook on how this COVID-19 thing was affecting areas around me. Personally, I'd say this pandemic has been less of burden on my family than others. This is because both of my parents are essential workers so they thankfully never stopped working. The first way COVID-19 affected me was when all restaurants closed down and I was unable to work or find a job. This was really hard for me because I've worked since I was 15, so I could only imagine what other's were going through as this was a minor loss on a much bigger scale. Although COVID-19 is everywhere, the closest it came to me was when my cousin, who's a nurse, tested positive. Thankfully she recovered and is doing well, but it was frightening knowing she could've been much worse. The biggest impact COVID-19 has had on me is really just limiting things I do on a daily basis, such as going to stores and eating out at restaurants, as well as being in school online. 

Now that introductions are over, I hope you have a good picture of who I am so that as you read this blog you can try to read it through my eyes. It will give you a first hand look into the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects it has on everyday life including my personal life as well. I hope you enjoy!