by The Cowl Editor on September 17, 2020
Opinion
Preparing for the “Real World”
“College will prepare you for the real world.” This is what teenagers hear from the time they enter high school to when they walk across the stage at commencement as adults. Why, then, is it that so many college students enter the real world with no idea how to adequately exist in it? Sitting behind a desk in an office is not the real world, even if you can see the real world from your skyline view.
College students would be remiss thinking that a career is the real world. If you have a free elective or need to fulfill a core curriculum requirement, take a course on contemporary social issues, like Dr. Kara Cebulko’s immigration course. Or learn about historically marginalized communities with a course like Race and Politics in the Americas or Race and Racism. Maybe study abroad for a semester to learn about African, Asian, or Latin American cultures.
Do not do it simply to satisfy a core curriculum requirement. Do it so that you are prepared for the real world. Do it so that you know how to respect your coworkers of different ethnicities. Do it because your future child’s best friend could be undocumented. Do it so that your five-dollar bills go into an empty hat on the sidewalk instead of an empty glass at the bar. This is the real world: you could be the richest attorney, accountant, or engineer in America and still not know how to make a fat cat well-rounded.
—Nicole Patano ‘22
The Novelty of Masks
Looking around one’s house, you are likely to come across items that were once exciting or important to you, but no longer are.
All of that Reebok CrossFit apparel you bought when it was popular in 2014 collects dust in the basement next to the treadmill you seldom use. Stuffed in the back of your kitchen cabinet is that once-trendy soda machine thing you bought from Bed, Bath and Beyond.
It is becoming apparent that another item, while not a discretionary one, is facing a similar fate and going out of style.
Masks on campus are visibly being worn less and less, as the novelty of wearing them is quickly waning. Students who were presumably nervous about disciplinary consequences for not wearing masks were surprised to see that you can get away with neglecting to wear one.
However, the important question is not whether you can get away with not wearing masks, but why you should wear them.
Providence College has invested large amounts of time, energy, and resources in order to prevent outbreaks on campus.
Thousands of disinfecting wipes, reconfigured class release times to stagger the departure of students from buildings, and even a website dedicated to informing students about COVID-19-related updates has been created.
All of these efforts are monumental in respect to the simple act of wearing a mask, yet these efforts are all for naught if masks are not worn.
Wearing a mask is the most effective means that students can contribute to continuing this semester on-campus.
—Joseph Kulesza ’22
Treat the Pandemic with Sensitivity
The loss of a loved one is no joking matter. In this time of unrest for so many, Providence College students, faculty, and administration need to recognize the immense burden the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on everyone’s personal lives. We must strive to foster a community of compassion, self-awareness, and consideration.
Hundreds of thousands offamilies have lost loved ones to COVID-19; it is sad, but true. Recently, however, many people have made COVID-19 the subject of memes. There seems to be a palpable disconnect between these memes and the fact that death is serious and the virus that runs so violently around us can take hold of anyone at any second.
Although you may not have been personally impacted by the pandemic, it is insensitive to assume that your experience is universal. It is a privilege to be able to say that COVID-19 has not significantly impacted your life beyond having to follow new guidelines and take classes over Zoom.
Simply put, everyone on PC’s campus needs to take a step back, realize their place in the grand scheme of our world, and recognize that words and actions can affect others so much more powerfully than they assume.
—Olivia Bretzman ’22