Apartment-dwellers visit with Grebel’s Director of Operations Paul Penner outside their window and with Director of Student Services Mary Brubaker-Zehr via video chat. Photo by Anna Kuepfer
Most of our lives have shifted dramatically in the past few weeks as we grapple with social isolation, educational upheaval, job changes, pandemic preparations, and health care emergencies surrounding COVID-19. Over the course of two weeks, the situation moved rapidly at Conrad Grebel University College as the University of Waterloo cancelled in-person classes and exams and switched to online platforms for the remainder of the winter term and the upcoming spring term.
At this point, Grebel’s residence dorm is empty and 16 students remain living in the College apartments. Some residents, who could not return home immediately, moved from the dorms to the self-sufficient apartments, making meals in their kitchen and staying physically distant from others. Second-year engineering student Max Chute was unable to return home to Vietnam due to complications surrounding international travel so he made the decision to move into a Grebel apartment with a few close friends. He also shared his experience as a residence don during the busy move-out time. “Between the five dons, we checked 120 students out of the residence in five days. Normally this process takes three weeks.” Max found there was a general feeling among the residents of lacking closure to the year’s residence experience.
Last year, Grebel students created an app called Skybunk that is used internally to connect to each other, share news and announcements, and arrange activities. Grebel’s strong community is still evident as students are offering a listening ear through the app, helping each other out, and dreaming up various ways to be with each other digitally – through Jackbox games, Zoom meetings, virtual Minecraft worlds, and Instagram.
The abrupt transition off-campus is especially difficult for the fourth-year cohort that had been looking forward to enjoying the last days of their Grebel experience together. Charlotte Baker, a Grebel Associate in her last term of university, found the sudden end to her Grebel experience to be a difficult adjustment. The desire to continue in community led her to create “The Great Grebel Challenge” Instagram page so residents and associates can still have fun together while being physically separated. She posts a new challenge every few days, such as trying out a new recipe, and then shares videos and pictures of fellow Grebelites completing the task. “As soon as I post a challenge, I immediately start getting submissions. I think that really shows people’s excitement to stay connected and their dedication to the Grebel community.”
The Orientation Committee is continuing to connect online to ensure the coming generation of Grebelites is welcomed accordingly. Leah Schilstra, a member of the committee responsible for organizing the fall 2020 orientation week, noted, “we are still planning all the same fun events, snacks, and skits that you see every year!” She shared that there has been encouragement in meeting together, despite the discouragement of not being able to take part in their always-lively in-person meetings. She shared that “the willingness and intentionality I have seen through online meetings reveals the commitment people have to seeing the Grebel community thrive and succeed, as well as the commitment the Grebel community has to one another.”
By Elizabeth Robertson