It’s Tough, but Please Recommit to Safety—You Matter!

I took advantage of early voting this weekend, casting my ballot at a polling place in a community center. Saturday was bright and warm, and my walk into the center took me past a number of pickleball courts. The people playing appeared to be in a league, and a number shouted greetings to each other, jumped out of play to give a welcome hug to friends and filled in next to each other on the benches that ringed the courts. It was a lovely fall scene … until I realized that almost no one was wearing a mask. I felt like Roy Scheider as Chief Brody in Jaws, suddenly seeing how many endangered swimmers were directly in the path of the oncoming shark. (Although, unlike Chief Brody, I didn’t run into this crowd, shouting at them to put on their masks and socially distance—the COVID version of “get out of the water.”)

As we’re told every day, our country is experiencing the second wave of coronavirus with cases growing at a rate not seen since spring. This news should make an impact, but in truth, we’re all so tired—worn down by months of the pandemic and the many unwanted changes it has brought to our personal and professional lives. We want a return to a whole host of things that—until March—were not particularly extraordinary: sending our kids to school, buying bleach wipes, going to the dentist, visiting family and friends, going to the movies or the theater, eating out, attending weddings and birthday parties, seeing a concert, going to a football game, getting on a plane and, apparently, playing pickleball. But, as the increasing number of new cases—including among our students—over the past week demonstrates, desperately wanting COVID to be over is simply not enough.

So, I write today to ask that you join me in recommitting to NOVA’s Community Partnership Pledge, whether you are on campus or not. Please wear a mask, wash your hands, socially distance and if you’re working on campus, stay home if you’re feeling ill. And, ask your students to recommit to the pledge, too.

This is a tough time and it’s lasting much longer than we could have predicted. Reach out for help if you need it, stay connected and remember that you matter to NOVA. Together, we will get through this.