Birds are chirping, cherry blossoms are blooming at Meredith and the campus remains as beautiful as it ever was. There's only one difference: most students and faculty are staying at home due to the recent outbreak of COVID-19. Our dear campus is barren and so many questions are arising.
Notably, which of our beloved traditions have been cancelled, have been postponed or will be venturing into the virtual realm? In this time of uncertainty, you can rest assured that most of these traditions will go on in some form.
On April 3, the Meredith community received an email detailing the status of the spring traditions. Freshmen can rest easy knowing that Fire and Water will go on! There will be a virtual event held in the spring, and the event’s dinner has been tentatively postponed to the fall. For more information regarding Fire and Water you can follow the event’s Instagram handle @merecofireandwater2023.
Sophomores concerned about Tea For Two no longer have to worry, as the event has been moved to September.
Any sophomores or seniors worrying about saying their goodbyes to their Bigs or Littles should know that the events surrounding Class Day and graduation will still occur. The college is currently deciding how commencement activities will be rescheduled.
Any juniors looking forward to the Crook Hunt can find this year's activities on Instagram at the handle @crookhunt2020. The senior co-chairs have designed a virtual hunt and juniors can submit guesses based on seniors’ clues, and the hiding place will be revealed on April 16 at 5 p.m.
The format of Stunt is also being rearranged, with MRA’s planning to create a hashtag for this year's event where students can upload videos of what they’re doing at home. Students are encouraged to go outside and recreate field events and use the hashtag #MCStuntAtHome.
The only events that have been cancelled in their entirety at this time are the Grandparents Luncheon and Spring Formal.
The Meredith Herald was able to interview one of the Freshmen Class Chairs for Spring Formal. Hannah Gallagher, ’23, detailed the importance of the event as well as some words of encouragement to the seniors: “The spring formal is always dedicated to our seniors as a last hoorah at Meredith, so I am very sad to see it go for now. We can still honor our senior friends in other ways that keep us all safe and healthy. I think the biggest thing is remembering that we all have to do what we have to do to stay safe and protect our beautiful community.”
In these trying times, it is easy to feel over-run by things we can’t control. But Meredith has shown devotion to its students by ensuring that most of our spring traditions will go on. This is Meredith going strong!
By Rachel Van Horne, Staff Writer