Editorial: The Orientation reboot
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Between an ongoing global pandemic, numerous precautionary lockdowns, and uncertainty of the future ahead, the gradual return to campus is being viewed with a critical eye from Concordia’s students across the board.
September 2020 brought you The Disorientation Issue, which aimed to ease students into the reality of living with COVID-19. Nevertheless, we continue to adapt to new developments on the coronavirus.
As we embark into fall 2021, and in honour of this looming uncertainty, we bring you the latest twist on the annual Orientation Issue at The Link: The Reorientation Issue.
This issue follows the theme of reintegration on a larger scale considering the amount of students who will be experiencing life on campus for the very first time.
After a year and a half of producing content solely online, we are excited to finally be able to deliver this magazine in print format once again. Hence, with the launch of this latest issue, Volume 42 makes its first appearance in person.
We’ve all experienced some variation of burnout or fatigue in the past year, which is why some students may have felt robbed of their quintessential university experience. More than anything, there’s a collective sense of being left with more questions than answers about what’s to come.
Last fall, thousands of students began their post-secondary academic studies online due to COVID-19. And while the internet has done plenty to keep us connected through online learning platforms, there’s simply no comparison to the tangible experience of being on a university campus among your peers. Especially in a student hub like Montreal, part of the appeal of the city felt lost amidst the frenzy of the virus.
Now, as we slowly make our way back to normalcy, the precarious return for most Concordians is, in one word, bittersweet. Bittersweet in the sense that we’re in a unique position to redefine what it means to turn a classroom into a community.
Quarantine gave each of us time to reflect, not only on who we are as individuals, but also on how we function as a society. In today’s digital age, we came to the realization of how important it is for humans to interact with one another.
Life can be totally unpredictable, which is why we encourage you to take a moment to acknowledge how privileged we are to even be offered the chance to go back to in-person learning.
They say actions speak louder than words. By following the recommendations of health experts, it was our actions that even made the possibility of going back to school a reality. Case and point.
Wearing our masks, washing our hands, and getting fully vaccinated are some of the easiest ways to show mutual respect for human life. It’s how we tell each other, “All life is precious, especially yours.”
For the sake of new beginnings, let’s continue to reflect this mindset as we reorient our way back to campus.
This article originally appeared in The Reorientation Issue, published September 7, 2021.
