Five senses of LDFRN
Today is what I am calling LDFRN – Last Day For Right Now. At noon today, all our Deacs need to leave campus, save for a very small number that were approved to stay because of exceptional hardships. Even though staff are working remotely, I drove over to campus to observe from 11-11:45 am to do a Five Senses.
Guess I should amend even before I begin and call this a Four Senses because I didn’t eat or drink anything. Also, instead of sitting in one place, I walked or drove all over campus to get the vantage point from everywhere. Here goes.
I see…
A student on a bench near one of the Quad residence halls. He’s talking on the phone. He is in short sleeves and it is cold. The mom in me wishes he had a jacket.
A girl who parks her car in the fire lane near the arch on the Quad, quickly returns with a bag in hand, and moves her car to an official parking space.
What I assume is a parent with two toddlers walking up to the Quad. I assume this might be a mom/caregiver for kids whose daycare is closed. The kids are running off their energy.
A nearly empty Quad. There is one couple eating lunch at a table outside of Subway with a beautiful Golden Retriever. In normal circumstances, I’d be all over that dog. (Darn you, social distancing!)
A male student walking and talking on his phone near the front of Reynolda. He is not exactly pacing, but I sense some frustration in the way he is moving.
Moving towards the south side of campus, I see two male students eating on tables outside the Pit on the patio. The are observing proper social distancing.
A girl on the Benson patio eating Chick Fil A. I walk to the doors to the Food Court and see two signs: one saying do not enter if you are ill, the other saying the dining area is closed for seating, but Chick Fil A orders are accepted at the counter or via the app.
Two students walking with Starbucks bags in their hands. They are talking, but I can’t quite make out what they are saying. Their tone, though, is light. It is not gloom and doom.
Moving towards the South campus first-year residence halls, I see a girl jogging. More like running. She is fast. Clearly a regular exerciser.
Three people – possibly staff or grad students – sitting at the tables between Tribble and the library. They are talking and laughing.
A few cars, minivans, and/or SUVs being loaded. Fewer than I anticipated to be honest.
Students carrying things to said cars. Or rolling suitcases to the curb, or loading in to Ubers or taxis. I never see more than one or two students at a time doing this. It is not a mass exodus.
Beautiful pansies in the flowerbed outside Johnson. There is also a lot of straw on the nearby grass. Clearly Facilities is laying down grass seed and this is here to help it grow.
A woman walking a tiny dog. The dog is giving me the look like she is dying for me to pet her. I want to, but resist. Again, social distancing.
A male student coming down the stairs from Babcock towards the parking lot in back. He has all of his bedding rolled up like a giant burrito. The mattress pad is facing out. It is pretty funny to see (and I could totally imagine my Class of ’27 doing that sort of thing). Mattress pad student and I make eye contact and he smiles and sort of nods as if to say “ma’am” as I wait to let him down the stairs first. He has very kind eyes and looks very polite. Someone raised him right.
A family artfully loading things in the back of an SUV. There’s already a lot in there, and they are cramming things in the empty spaces between existing piles. It’s like reverse Jenga – adding items instead of subtracting.
As I walk past Babcock, I see the remains of a box of rolled oats that has spilled on the sidewalk. Birds and squirrels will be overjoyed at this bounty. (I know the picture looks kind of gross. I promise you this is rolled oats. I know rolled oats when I see them).
A puddle on one of the cafe tables outside of the ZSR Library that has pink blossoms floating in it. It looks calm and serene among the madness of this week. I take a pic.
The on-call shuttle outside of ZSR. Flashers on.
As I get back towards my car, I see a guy from a distance. He looks older, maybe with a beard. He is standing taking pictures of Davis Field, then turns and takes pictures towards the arch on the Quad. I wonder if he is maybe a dad or male family member trying to capture memories for his Deac?
I drive towards North campus and make a loop around Student Apartments, Polo, Martin, Magnolia and Dogwood. Outside there are two male students in sweatshirts and shorts walking in the grass outside the residence halls, looking at the grass. At first I think they have lost something in the grass and are just looking for it. As I watch, it seems more likely that nothing is lost, they just ambling slowly and are looking down. I imagine they are at a loss for words, but they seem comfortable enough with each other that shared silence is easy for them.
Some male students loading cars and a pickup truck at the back of Magnolia and Dogwood. A girl walks by. She has a scooter but is not riding it, just walking it next to her.
Someone at the back of Polo is loading a car with doors that open like a Delorean. Being a Gen Xer, my first thought is Back to the Future. I wrack my brain trying to think of what kind of car it is – because I can barely see the logo. I do a little Googling and see it is a Tesla.
Mostly empty parking lots.
A female student sheltering from the light rain in the overhang of Student Apartment stairs. She has her luggage. Bet she is waiting for an Uber.
As I drove off campus (around 11:45 am), I saw a line of cars driving on to campus. If they were all coming to grab last minute essentials out of their rooms, they need to be quick about it.
I hear…
Lawnmowers and leaf blowers. Facilities is hard at work. They are essential personnel, and the campus cannot stop its regular work just because of this. Bless all our essential staff (indoors as well as out) who are working today.
Music. It’s faint. I think it is coming from the two guys on the patio outside the Pit.
An adult – maybe a staff member – talking on her phone and walking. I hear “23 miles each way” – not sure if she is describing a run or a hike or a drive. She is in really great shape so I am not ruling out a run or hike.
The rhythmic beep – beep – beep of a large truck backing up.
Quiet. There are very few people here. It is strangely calm and still.
I smell…
The delightful, clean smell of freshly cut grass. The humid air carries the scent even more. It smells so good.
Poop of the aforementioned tiny dog (I was walking by right as the dog was hunching over). Credit to the owner, she bagged it up right away.
As I get to the back of the library near Tribble, I smell wet wood chips. Looks like they just laid down a lot of wood chips near the trunks of big trees. Because of the light rain, the scent of fresh wood is everywhere here. It is worth a linger.
I feel…
Cold. It is chilly outside, maybe only 49 or 50 degrees, and overcast. I am glad I have a jacket.
Occasional tiny raindrops. It isn’t really raining raining, nor is it misting. You just get some occasional drops now and then.
Breeze on my face. The wind is cold. The humid air makes it feel like it cuts through you.
Much colder. In the half hour I have been here, the wind has picked up. It is really chilly now.
More small raindrops on my face.
I know you know this, but I want to say it again: one of the challenges with coronavirus is things are changing very quickly. We are doing our best to keep the FAQ page up to date and are adding any campuswide communications too. For those students who had to stay on campus, there is an hours of campus resources page.
I think we have decided that we will keep the call center open for the rest of this week (8:45 am-5 pm), though with a skeleton crew, as volume is light. That number is 336.758.7500. We would urge you to check the coronavirus main page/FAQ etc. for your answers first before you call, as that will help the callers be free to assist others who might have questions not answered there.
Keep the faith, Daily Deacdom. We will all get through this together. May you and yours be safe and well. XO.