This is the third installment of a three-part series on how Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College has been able to pivot to the opportunities presented during the transitions of both learning and working in these pandemic times.
Part 3 – WWI, the Spanish Flu and COVID-19
By Karen Dyer, vice president for advancement and strategic initiatives
It was 1918. Classes had already been disrupted by World War I the previous year when the United States declared war. Now, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College students were being asked to shelter in place on campus due to the Spanish Flu pandemic.
There were no promises that the nearly 100 students would go home for Thanksgiving or Christmas holidays. Referring to it as the “influenza ban,” the students said of their quarantine, which began Oct. 1, as having “descended upon them” and noted that “they, in their ignorance, considered it lightly” even as they imbibed beef tea and used camphor and eucalyptus to ward off disease.
Foundation Day celebrations were canceled. Trips to downtown Terre Haute, which was considered a significant event a century ago, were not to be.
However, the spirit to be resilient remained strong.
And so, students then, just as they are doing now in 2020, persevered – organizing fundraising drives for orphans in France and Belgium, writing letters and knitting sweaters, socks and wristlets for soldiers and taking on additional coursework from the Red Cross. According to the 1918-19 school yearbook, Les Bois, following the US declaration of war, the College “always progressive, and alert for the best, straightway arranged courses in first aid, dietetics, home nursing and surgical dressings. It meant many extra hours of class, but the workers (students) were willing.”
“The Woods enjoys a 180-year legacy of caring for her students. In this long and storied history, the College has weathered many challenges including the Civil War, both World Wars, the Spanish Flu pandemic and so many more,” said Dottie King, Ph.D., president of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. “I believe that we will tell a new story of how we came together through this pandemic and met the needs of our students in ways we previously may not have imagined.”
Today, social media, much like the annuals of yesteryear, is filled with stories from students, faculty, staff and alumni who are determined to persevere during COVID-19. From acts of kindness to encouraging words, funny memes and educational videos, The Woods community is showing its determination to endure.
Junior nursing major Jacob Turner from West Terre Haute, Indiana, shared on Facebook that he, along with his sister, freshman Emily Turner, and alum mom Tammi Rankins ’97, chose to pick up trash along the Durkees Ferry Road during quarantine as part of a virtual trash collection event after the live community service project was canceled. In addition, during the first weeks of the crisis, Turner created videos for the community, posted on social media, about how to properly wash hands and remove gloves.
When faced with not seeing her kindergarteners for weeks, alumna Harmony Walsh ’18, a first-year teacher at Van Dyne Elementary School, created the “Story Time with Community Friends” Facebook page following a trend of reading books online. She began recording individuals, such as President King and a number of faculty and staff from The Woods, reading their favorite children’s stories to be shared with kids at home. Her recording of Paul Salstrom, Ph.D., associate professor of history, known to everyone throughout his 26-years at The Woods as Dr. Paul, reading “Click, Clack, Moo, Cows That Type” by Doreen Cronin, received nearly 20,000 views.
“I’m learning to navigate the world of e-learning. It’s definitely hard not to be in the classroom with them,” said Walsh of her students, who she will now not see for the remainder of the year following an order by Governor Eric Holcomb for all Indiana schools to complete the year in e-learning. “Keeping connected with the community during this time of isolation is crucial and keeping literacy alive is an effort that should be highlighted.”
Supporting others through music is something Tracy Richardson ’88, Ph.D., dean of graduate therapy and counseling programs and director of the Masters of Art in Music Therapy program, does well as a practicing music therapist. She, along with fellow composer, Pete Garfinkel, decided to put their talents to work and debuted a new song, “Hometown Heroes,” on social media in the early days of the pandemic.
“We talked about this awful situation and how so many people are literally putting their lives on the line to care for and serve others. We decided to write something to honor them and shine a light on not only the obvious heroes, like medical staff and police, but also the unsung heroes like the truck drivers, grocery store workers and scientists,” said Richardson. “We wanted to get this one right, so we met several times over about two weeks to revise it. I’m very proud of what we created.”
Sarah Mahady ’05, director of alumni relations, said there is a feeling among Woods alumni that we are in this together. “Some of our alums are starting an inspirational email exchange to send uplifting quotes and prayers,” said Mahady, whose outreach during the crisis includes assisting the Indianapolis Alumni Club on a service project to write notes to front line medical professionals and provide snack bags to drop off at Indy area medical facilities.
Traveling Jesus, an iconic wooden statue known as T.J., is so named because he travels around campus sharing memorable events in the lives of students and alumni. He has been trolling the SMWC social media accounts, lifting spirits by showing up around the now quiet campus in various scenarios as an essential employee, a term coined during the COVID-19 epidemic for employees allowed to work outside state’s stay-at-home orders.
A post showing T.J. playing ping pong recently received nearly 500 “likes” and was shared more than 100 times.
Aimee Janssen-Robinson, associate vice president for student life, reported that students seem to be handling the transition well as she is watching students interact virtually with their professors and others such as the campus minister, the counselor and the student life staff.
“Just the other day, I saw an exchange between one of our students and her math instructor, Theresa Watson, where they spent nearly two hours in a video session together on Facebook,” said Janssen-Robinson. “Our students are doing well and accessing the resources available to them. They are adapting to using their resources in a virtual capacity, while still being able to find an opportunity to have fun. I’m proud that they are trying to be successful in the midst of everything that is going on.”
In addition to campus ministry and counseling outreach, other services such as advising, tutoring and the career center continue to operate as if they were on campus, meeting students’ needs and utilizing an early alert program to watch for concerns of academic or personal issues.
“We’re hearing reports of students, faculty, staff and alumni doing amazing things for others, which is so heart-warming and so true to our Woods values,” said King, who delivered a home cooked meal for Easter to the handful of students sheltering in place on campus for the remainder of the semester.
Senior Mannah Mace, a business administration major from Brazil, Indiana, who had hoped to celebrate her academic accomplishments and some well-deserved fun with her classmates will miss traditions she has waited four years to be a part of.
Midnight breakfast, senior recitals, the academic banquet and the beloved Oakleaf Ceremony, the bookend to a tradition for campus students that spans four years of accomplishments, beginning with the presentation to them of an acorn as a freshman – are experiences students in 2020 will forgo as the nation and world stays home to prevent the continued spread of the disease.
“This is a time in my life that I would not wish on anyone. To say that isn’t hard would be a lie, but at the end of the day I know I will grow and be a stronger person because of it,” said Mace. “I am also going through a time that I am giving up what I want to do, to make sure others have a chance to continue to live their lives. This has taught me selflessness on a new level because I don’t know who I am helping just by staying at home.”
Students learned in early April that the College would not cancel its commencement and Ring Day ceremonies, rather postponing until June, in an effort to hold on to long-treasured traditions, while navigating the realities of COVID-19 and taking steps to protect the health and well-being of the community.
King said, “We are also cognizant that this crisis is affecting all our students, traditional and post-traditional, as they work to complete the semester while dealing with the challenges of working from home. I pray that our students continue to focus on finishing this semester well, that they remain healthy so that we can come together in the years to come at our Woods.”
By the end of the semester, students in 1918 saw both the end of the war and of their quarantine. Seniors then celebrated with a “long sleep, late breakfast, climb to the church tower, banquet and toasts to President Woodrow Wilson,” according to the yearbook, which also noted that all students returned from the holidays, healthy and ready for the new year.
Janssen-Robinson said her advice to the students today is to stay connected with each other virtually to find support and comfort, share tips on how to cope with stress, to look for job and internships leads and to try to find moments of fun, and ultimately, a bit of happiness.
“What’s most important is that they know they are not in this alone, and life does go on.” said Janssen-Robinson.
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