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Update for Students: Maintaining Community and Health

03/20/2020

Dear SLU Student Companions,

As we begin to settle into our 鈥渘ew normal,鈥 I want to share some thoughts about maintaining community and health during this challenging time. Some of the tips below are linked to the guidance for in-person gatherings addressed in Dr. Pestello鈥檚 March 18 update. Others are ideas many of you have shared for ways to stay connected and keep our community alive and well, even as we are mostly apart from one another.

My hope is to answer some of your questions, while also sharing ideas about ways to maintain community (with those who remain on campus and those who are now back home) and to prioritize health (both for yourself and for those with whom you are in community). Caution: this email may be longer than you want to read; I hope you鈥檒l read it anyway!

Before I move to informational content, though, I鈥檇 like first to offer a few personal reflections. As many of you depart campus and our staff and faculty begin to work remotely, I鈥檝e been thinking a lot about how to stay connected to people. I鈥檓 an extrovert 鈥 not surprising for those who鈥檝e met me! 鈥 so this time of being alone more than being with others is going to test me. But I鈥檓 also an optimist, so I know good things will come from this time of crisis.

I recently heard that the word crisis has its roots in the notion of sifting. For me, this crisis does represent a sifting 鈥 it calls us to consider what really matters most to us, to let those things rise to the top as we allow the mundane annoyances of life to fall away.

So, here鈥檚 what matters most to me as I confront an increasingly-empty campus and a mostly-virtual calendar during this time of sifting:

Lately, folks have talked a lot about the importance of community and of health. Often, the two are treated as though they are in opposition to one another, as though we must choose between them.

But I think Billikens know community and health are inextricably linked: we can鈥檛 be truly healthy without community, and to thrive, our communities must be healthy. For me, commitment to the 鈥済reater good鈥 demands that I do some things that are good for both myself and others (like use hand sanitizer, and stop touching my face, and keep a 6-foot space between myself and others). For me, 鈥渉igher purpose鈥 means taking care of myself, so I can continue to work on ways the University can take good care of you. This is cura personalis.

Whatever communities you鈥檙e missing, I implore you to stay connected to them. We all have different 鈥減eople鈥 -- those who help us study, make us laugh, help us organize, teach us theories, make us feel at home, challenge us to do better, to be more. Stay connected to your 鈥減eople鈥 鈥 you need them and they need you.

In the coming weeks, you鈥檒l continue to hear me, from others in Student Development and around the University. We don鈥檛 want you to forget about us, and we want to keep you apprised of upcoming opportunities for virtual connection. In the meantime, please keep yourselves healthy (mind, body, spirit) and keep your communities healthy.

Warmly,

Debie Lohe
Interim Vice President for Student Development

Self and Others: Keeping Healthy

Whether you remain on campus or not this spring, please be mindful of these key tips for keeping yourself and others healthy. Even if you don鈥檛 feel sick, your actions and inactions have a significant impact on others. Adopting these health habits is a form of social action to protect the health and well-being of all those with whom you interact:

Self with Others: Maintaining Community

Maintaining connection and community is essential to your health and ours. And we recognize that you鈥檙e in all kinds of different communities, from CSOs to affinity groups, study groups to Flammilies, research teams to learning communities. Here are just a few of the ways you can stay connected:

Self for Others: Continuing to Serve

Service is a fundamental aspect of identity for most Billikens, and we recognize that the organizations and mechanisms through which you serve may not be available to you right now, particularly if you have left the St. Louis area. Here are a few ways to maintain your commitment to our Jesuit value for serving others: