Clearly, life is far from what it was before the pandemic struck—Bereans have had to adapt in numerous ways to stay safe. So, how has Berea College been operating while maintaining safety for all Bereans?

Facilities 

Sanitation is key to keeping Bereans safe on campus.

When campus shutdown in March 2020 and most students were sent home,

Facilities Management, which depends on student labor, took a hit. Shane Wilkerson, Director of Facilities, says his group of frontline staff bravely stepped up, including the housekeeping crew whose workload increased the most.

For the fall semester, the housekeeping staff has been responsible for cleaning each classroom after every class meeting, as well as sanitizing student rooms. Facilities Management duties expanded to include frequent sanitizing of buildings and flushing air filtration systems to allow fresh outside airflow through buildings.

Facilities Management is also responsible for ordering and maintaining supplies of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and cleaning supplies needed to keep up with the new sanitizing schedule. Wilkerson reports that the amount of hand sanitizer used on campus has tripled since before the pandemic.

With all the new challenges, Wilkerson said he is grateful for the student workers, who returned in August. Nearly double the normal amount of student workers are now assigned to the department.

“None of this would be possible without the students,” Wilkerson said.

Academics

In the realm of academics at Berea College, the biggest decisions were centered around how to deliver the high standard of education the College is known for during this time of necessary adjustments. Berea’s academic standards are rigorous, so preparing for students’ return in August was a challenge under pandemic protocol.

Matt Saderholm, Dean of Faculty, said faculty were given teaching options. Online teaching formats such as Zoom and Moodle have helped tremendously with teaching and engaging students. For those meeting in person, changes such as smaller class sizes social distancing in classrooms have been enacted. To limit contact time, classes meet twice a week remotely.

“We gave all faculty the option to choose how they wanted to teach (in person or distance learning),” he said. “Some opted to teach exclusively remotely, others chose to teach completely in person, and another subset chose to do both.”

Each faculty member was asked to do virtual chats or phone calls with students during office hours, and all faculty members have made the necessary adjustments. Megan Hoffman, faculty member and faculty liaison to the Board of Trustees, says adapting to changes because of COVID 19 has been a challenge but not impossible as initially thought. For faculty, much more preparation is necessary to make class activities accessible online. Hoffman, who teaches biology, said distance teaching is not as easy or enjoyable as it is with in-person interactions, but the changes are working.

“I learned many new techniques for teaching online courses,” Hoffman said. “Dr. Leslie Ortquist-Ahrens, Berea’s Director of Faculty Development, led a team of several faculty and staff members who ran three training workshops for campus teachers. The month-long workshop I attended was remarkably effective and useful. I learned online teaching strategies but, more important, I found ways to improve my teaching in general. Many of these approaches and techniques will be part of my teaching toolbox long after the pandemic ends.”

Hoffman noted that, like the faculty, students have been required to adjust, and   praised their adaptability.

“Students have risen to the challenge of maintaining safety rules and I am immensely proud of them,” she said. “They are keeping all of us safer through their positive behavior.”

Student Life

Student life on campus is certainly different in the age of COVID 19.

Basic things like housing and dining are vastly different. Scheduled and assigned mealtimes keep everyone spread apart safely. For housing, most upper-class students have been allowed an individual room. Due to space constraints, first-year students are sharing rooms as normal.

Collis Robinson, Associate Dean of Student Life, said students have been great about abiding by strictly enforced policies to keep everyone safe, but the prolonged nature of the public health crisis is taking a toll.

“Berea College students know what it means to be resilient and, through COVID, students have found ways to adjust to the current climate,” Robinson said. “Students have shared that the policies in place on campus are strict, but they understand why they exist.”

Keeping students engaged and maintaining social contact is obviously a challenge. Robinson said there have been some in-person events, such as a recent fall festival, which were a big hit with students and were conducted safely with masks and social distancing.

“Students shared that it was great getting to see people and engage in person,” Robinson said about the fall festival.

President Lyle Roelofs has also praised the students’ response to the new policies, saying that Berea College students have taken to the changes admirably.

“Berea College students who chose to return for on-campus learning agreed to a number of stringent restrictions on their conduct and ability to travel away from and return to campus,” said President Lyle Roelofs. “Enforcement was and is strict in that only one or two offenses can result in suspension, and regrettably there have been some suspensions. I am delighted, though, that these measures seem to have achieved their purpose in keeping students safe by limiting the possibility of introducing the virus into the campus community and reducing the likelihood that any cases will spread to others. So far there have been only three positive tests among students and all three related to travel away from campus. In no case have we been able to document the spread of COVID-19 from one student to another. I have to add that I am very impressed with how our students have risen to this challenge. As I move around campus, most of the students I encounter seem happy and grateful that the campus was opened for them and that they have been able to progress in their education.”