When news broke that the University was moving to remote learning and telling students to leave College Hill, Jessica Zhu ’20 was not surprised. She was expecting the announcement. In many ways, it felt as though her whole semester had been building to that moment.

Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo signed an executive order Monday postponing the 2020 presidential primary and shifting to a predominantly mail ballot model in light of escalating COVID-19 concerns. The election will occur June 2, according to the order, over a month later than the original date of April 28. 

The University will postpone Commencement and Reunion Weekend, traditionally held in May, due to the continuing global COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Amid the panic and fear caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, college students everywhere have been left in limbo about the trajectory of their academic careers. The most prominent concern I have encountered among students is the impact the global crisis might have on their academic success.

As the majority of students depart from campus, entering into new environments with new routines, I fear that remote learning will amplify the inequalities among our student body.

The novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, has quickly developed into a global pandemic of catastrophic proportions. The virus is said to cause mild to moderate flu-like symptoms in most cases, resulting in severe respiratory illness in particularly vulnerable populations such as the elderly and immunocompromised individuals.

All University courses will be canceled starting Monday and will resume online following a two-week break in response to the increasing risk posed by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

In response to the spread of COVID-19 and the ever-heightening accompanying international concern, the University has announced and implemented a number of public health measures.

Onésimo Almeida MA’77 PhD’80 P’06, professor of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies, tested negative for COVID-19 coronavirus, after fears of exposure following a trip to Portugal during which he interacted with people who were diagnosed with COVID-19. The professor did test positive for the flu.