The pandemic showed that flexibility will be key in the new workplace. 

Chancellor Patrick Gallagher said at Pitt’s Friday board of trustees meeting that while the University community can look forward to a more engaging fall semester, a fully normal academic year is unlikely unless those coming back to campus are vaccinated.

The isolation, lack of control, grief and fear have affected all of us in some way. And while there is certainly an initial relief that comes with getting vaccinated, the reality of reentering social life is different for everyone.

I went from someone able to stay up and out until after the sun came up to someone who prefers to be home at a normal time so I can watch HGTV before going to sleep in just a year.

For the most part, gone are the days where every graduation party invite or text to come to a crowded South O basement can be answered with, “In a pandemic?”

Now that the COVID-19 pandemic is coming to a close for those who are vaccinated, it is so important that we continue to treasure all of our hobbies and remember how much they were there for us when we needed something to do other than twiddle our thumbs and count the days until we could leave the house again.

The nearly uniform decision of companies to lavish CEOs with tens of millions of dollars while actively decimating the lives of their workers is both a gross moral failure and a clear indictment of a rancid systemic problem.

Prolonged social distancing is our brains’ worst case scenario.

This won’t go away unless we take action to protect ourselves and others.

During the pandemic, most people don’t have the luxury of meeting someone organically.