- Time Zone Challenges
DePauw’s student population has had to choose between working from home, commuting, returning to campus, or finding alternative living arrangements such as an air BnB. For some students who chose to stay home, they have to adjust to being in a different time zone than DePauw. Junior Victoria Nguyen is from Oahu, Hawaii and she is currently there taking her classes remotely. For Nguyen it’s a six-hour time difference from DePauw and her earliest class is at 2:20 am, which Nguyen is adjusting to by switching up her sleeping schedule. However, despite her early wake-up times, her professors are more lenient with due dates to accommodate students for various reasons due to the time-zones or if a student has a job. Despite its challenges, Nguyen says it's the new normal for now.
2. Enrollment Numbers for 2020-2021 school year
DePauw’s first-year class has 397 students, 10 of which are transfer students. Compared to last year’s 432 students, they are down by 35. In an email from Mary Dieter, due to factors related to COVID-19, 21 students have deferred for a year. However, there were also 25 students who deposited and canceled. Those students generally don’t provide a reason for doing so according to Dieter. Overall, the percentage of first-year students that canceled is consistent with the past few years of 6%.
3. “Message From an on Campus Senior”
Ali Tallen, a senior at DePauw University, is currently living on campus. On Aug. 30 she posted on her Instagram story a “Message From an on Campus Senior” (seen below) because she saw Snapchat and Instagram stories that raised concerns about the health and safety of her fellow peers. Tallen said, “I just wanted the people that saw it to think about their actions and realize that one "small" action can create a large negative effect, especially amid a global pandemic.”
She also emphasized that being on campus is a privilege and, “DePauw is a safe space for a lot of people and we are really lucky to be granted the opportunity to be on campus and everyone needs to respect that opportunity”.
For Tallen the growing number of cases in cities and towns with universities has caused her to worry about DePauw. She wanted to remind students that they still have time to not only make the right decisions but think before they act.
4. Vehicle Safety
Due to theft and break-ins to vehicles on campus on Sept. 4, the DePauw police want to remind students to keep their cars locked, remove valuables, and to not leave car keys in the vehicle. In an email from Charlene Shrewsbury, Chief of DePauw Police, said to contact them at 765-658-5555 if anyone in the DePauw community has any additional questions, information, or problems.
5. COVID-19 Cases on Campus
There are no new COVID-19 cases on DePauw University’s campus as of Sept. 4 at noon. Community members can keep track of current numbers on the university’s self reported COVID-19 dashboard.