In a typical year, the Editor-in-Chief of The Globe would save their regards and words of wisdom for the very beginning of their tenure and the very end. Mine isn’t quite over yet, seeing as I have another semester to go. But in these, and pardon my use of this overused term, unprecedented times, I felt it necessary to check in with our readers more often. 

During this most tumultuous of years, we could all use a guiding voice of reason. And though I may not feel personally qualified to do so, I suppose I can do that for you. 

Truth be told, working in news, especially right now, is so tiresome. The sky is quite literally falling as we watch the death toll from COVID-19 climb and our country’s leadership do absolutely nothing to stop it. My co-news editor, Jake Dabkowski, wrote in his last op-ed on COVID-19, the pandemic is “not a red and blue issue. It’s just fundamentally not.” 

And yet, to so many Americans, including our own government officials, it is. 

But here at Point Park, the student body has done its part in looking out for the safety and well-being of everyone in our community. We have not seen a widespread outbreak so far this semester. People have contracted the virus, students and employees both, yes, but we were relatively successful in minimizing the spread. 

I believe this success falls largely upon the caution taken by students and employees. Students who elected to take all of their classes remotely, individuals who encouraged and enforced mask-wearing, individuals who were cautious and quarantined upon exposure and got tested, they are all responsible for our community’s relative success. Yes, the school itself took measures in limiting dorm occupancy rates, cleaning and encouraging social distancing, but none of this would have been effective had individuals not taken this thing seriously and made smart choices.

If only Point Park was a representative of what we, as a country, could achieve. Point Park community members, mostly, believe in science and care for each other’s health and safety. But in this country, so many people just … don’t. 

I’m not going to feign ignorance here and wonder why this is. We know why this is. It’s because of racism, because if non-white people are more susceptible to the negative effects of the virus, then nobody thinks it matters. It’s because of classism, because if poor people are more susceptible to the negative effects of the virus, then nobody thinks it matters. It’s ultimately because of selfishness and a feeling of white, upper class superiority. It’s because of some backwards idea of “freedom,” that people hold, where they think simply being an American means they can do whatever the hell they want whenever they want without any consequences. It’s ignorance. 

And of course, with a government that currently reflects these flawed ways of thinking, folks who hold these views only feel legitimized. Because after all, how could they be wrong when the leader of the free world thinks the same way?

And as the semester comes to a close, I want the Point Park community to think about this broad-scale ignorance that we are experiencing. I want us to reflect on it and pledge to continue to do better. Because we can and we will. 

Even though the country is at odds, we don’t have to be.