Images capture campus in motion amid coronavirus pandemic, coursing swiftly behind masks
Norwich University Staff Photographer Mark Collier has seen scores of students experience college day-to-day in his 7½ years on campus. He’s captured them in class, on the march, gathered for meals, readying for life’s coming steps. This year, as the university adjusted to the coronavirus pandemic and new health and safety protocols, Collier said he frequently saw resilience in students as they minded distance, washed hands and wore masks. Everyone, he said, seemed to adopt the U.S. Marine Corps mantra: adapt, improvise and overcome.
Students found their groove and their joy, he said, especially on a gray, drizzly August day. In a show of bonding, team building and ingenuity, a small group of Corps of Cadets upperclassmen laid tarps on a hill by the baseball field and used the rainfall as a lubricant for a makeshift Slip ’N Slide.
2020 visions
2020 brought change, challenges and, in its off-kilter way, reflection and celebration at Norwich University.
We welcomed President Mark C. Anarumo and said farewell to President Emeritus Richard W. Schneider after 28 years at the helm. We adapted to the coronavirus pandemic, wearing our masks, washing our hands, minding our 6-foot distance and mastering Zoom, GoToMeeting and GoToWebinar. “Can you hear me now?” and “Can you see me now? became near catchphrases as we sat by webcams and microphones.
Through it all, Norwich’s community, true to tradition, adjusted and thrived. The Class of 2020 graduated, students commissioned into the U.S. armed forces and academic pursuits continued. We even had some fun, with the first Grit Games, online meditation classes, Campus Activities Board virtual chess tournaments and Alumni Office-arranged get-togethers.