On Thursday, March 12th, students got an email stating the college would be shut down at least until Monday, March 16th.
They told everyone that the goal was to try and re-open come April 7th but that plan didn’t work out and eventually, they would go the rest of the semester online.
This would be a new learning way for a lot of athletes who now would be losing the chance to play, as this also the end of spring sports.
The process is now heading in a different direction with what is happening after sports have been canceled as they are planning to help the athletes with remote-learning and going forward with sports possibly coming back in the fall.
“We are at a point now where we are moving forward and looking to help our students in their new “remote learning” environment”, said Director of Athletics, Dan Blair.
The baseball team was scheduled to leave for Florida March 12 for a spring trip but that was ultimately canceled due to the pandemic. “The team was very upset, but the picture became clearer for them when sports at all levels nationally were canceled, they started to understand it more clearly” Blair said.
The timetable for sports to resume is not available as of now so Colleges must have a different way to recruit students instead of face to face interviews. “Coaches are still recruiting, we’re taking advantage of Zoom to have video calls in place of regular meetings. Schedules for fall and winter sports are almost completed” Blair said.
The spring semester may be over but going forward Northern Essex is still getting ready for the new semester coming in the fall.
