As Election Day etches closer and closer, students and faculty at Northern Essex Community College continue to prepare for Nov. 3, despite the general absence of classes on Campus.

Although classes are almost completely online this semester numerous events have been prepared by student and faculty organizations to in order to increase student participation in the electoral proccess and better inform them on issues that’re important within this election cycle.

NECC’s Coordinator of Civic Engagement, Service-Learning, & Community Resources Janel D’Agata-Lynch, gave some insight into what is being done to help ensure students participate in this election without the aid of on-campus resources.

She explained how exactly the college is going about this she detailed the colleges participation in the ‘ ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge’ and it’s goals.

“ The general purpose of The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge is too increase student participation in the election. We work towards this by creating engagement plans and holding group sessions on campus to discuss the election and work on ways to better communicate to students how to register to vote. We also hold events virtually, which is newer this year with the pandemic,” she said.

She also explained the impact the COVID pandemic has had on the election cycle and how many events and plans had to be altered in order to continue through the numerous inconcviences caused as a result of the pandemic.

“In previous years we’ve had tables on campus for voting registration and have held forums on the candidates. We’d sometimes have primary Nacy 2 candidates visit the campus and speak to students and faculty,” she said.

Though most of these events weren’t able to take place this year, D’Agata- Lynch didn’t view the changes as wholy negative.

“In some ways it’s better because it’s easier for people to get access to events and opportunities they wouldn’t have otherwise been been able to if they were all taking place in a physical medium,” she said.

D’Agata-Lynch also notes the variety of online resources being offered through the college that can help students better prepare to vote in their area.

A series of videos has also been prepared featuring students and faculty explaining the voting process and why it’s so important to participate in the election. A variety of important dates for both the Massachusetts and New Hampshire elections have also been provided.

Some students have also voiced their concerns in regards to the election cycle and the impact it might have on their local area.

When asked about the current election cycle, Paramedic Technology student Tyler Hamel gave some insight into what the typical student might be feeling right now as the election continues to create more and more tension and anxiety within the population.

“I try to stay informed and watch the news, but I really feel uneasy whenever I see anything about the election. I hated hearing all the commentary after the first debate and all the ‘best moments’ from it. It feels like people are taking this too lightly, so many people’s lives and well being are at stake right now and people are treating this like a joke,” Hamel said.

Hamel also talked about his concern regarding how the election results might impact his future and his career.

“Healthcare is really important right now and it’s really strange to see so many potential changes being talked about right now. I have no idea what my fields going to look like in the next five or ten years. It’s really something I like doing but I feel like a want some stability in my career. It’d be really devastating to go through all this training then find out it was all pointless in a few years,” he said.

This election has undoubtedly been highly emotional and induced greatly different feelings in each person it’s impacted, especially considering how many students lives may be directly effected on issues decided in the next month.

Both students and facualty are preparing the best they can even if their concerns are often so different from eachothers. Regardless of the tension, the Northern Essex Community continues to be cocerned and greatly involved in both the process and it’s outcome.

During this pandemic, it has been difficult for students to learn and concentrate. Some college students have faced a lot of struggles. Also, the professors have been facing difficulties teaching during the pandemic.

Mirrororajah Metcalfe is a student at Northern Essex Community College. Her major is Journalism and Communications. She from Las Vegas.  Metcalfe states that she struggles  learning virtually.

“The hardest part is creating a schedule every week,” she said.

She also is having to email teachers for questions instead of being able to ask. Students also have problems staying focused during this pandemic since everything virtual is been to hard maintain focus. Because we in a different set of learning and don’t see the professor face to face.

Metcalfe said, “for the classes I’m taking I don’t have any virtual meetings.”

Not every student has a virtual meeting this fall semester which can be beneficial since it causes some stress and confusion for students.  Helpful resources are important and take you a long way during learning virtually. It is useful to find any recourse it can help you.

”Honestly just planning my schedule is the most important thing for me so that I can stay organized and not fall behind also getting a planner notebook and doing school work at my desk instead of my bed,” said Metcalfe.  This is very helpful and can make you feel more confident in school and be more prepared to learn.  It can still difficult to stay motivated if you not getting the help you need.

Metcalfe said the way she keeps motivated is “I just have to be in the right mindset to get work done.” Having a positive mindset and getting work done and not procrastinating can take students a long way in school during this pandemic.

A student from Northern Essex Community College, Pachano Matos is an Electrical/computer and Chemical Engineering major. Matos is from the Dominican Republic.

He faced struggles from learning virtually. The struggle Matos has is “I have ADHD, so I have a hard time concentrating and taking the time out to do the class and when reading the material, I get distracted and bored and usually don’t finish and I’m working full time,” he said.

It can be hard for students to learn especially with learning disabilities. It’s hard to stay focus during virtual learning if you are distracted easily.

There are ways to fix it, This is what the Matos said about fixing the issue about him not concentrating. “I don’t really. I’m always late for everything I tried and plan but at the end of the day it really does not work for me. In a zoom classroom. I can turn off mic and camera and just do other things and the whole things class is in the background. The lectures that I have to read I don’t, and the discussion board I don’t really participate.”

This student has problems staying focused and being on task because it’s hard for him to pay attention and to make a schedule for the upcoming day. Some students having trouble with the same thing as well it can be hard to also achieve in school while learning virtually.

Matos also stated about his grades. “for example, I am taking one class so far in person. And in that class so far, I have 60 points out of 60 compare that to one of the classes complete online where have 48 out of 70.”

Students have been struggling on maintaining good grades since the semester started. That’s why good methods come in handy for some students during this virtual learning. This is what Matos said about his resources: “Honestly I don’t think I can with all honestly say that there’s any of me. Except maybe for the school paying for half of my computer.” Paying for expenses of students has helped a lot and has put less stress in their life. It also made it is easier for them to study and pass in work.

It has been very difficult for students to stay motivated during a pandemic. Especially if they can’t seek help.  Matos struggles during the pandemic, with staying motivated.

“I have my good share of struggle even if we are on campus, but being so behind in almost all of my classes and losing point in such unnecessary manner, and having to self-teach for me most part and trying to juggle everything and that at the end of the day may not be enough,” he said.

“It’s hard to want to continue … It  seems that the system doesn’t really care for the odd ones out. The school is set up as one fits all kind of education when life doesn’t work like that. And they should allow some people, learning remotely being able to take classes on campus and practicing social distancing. I know it is possible because it is a reality to one of my classes,” he said.

Mary Jo Shafer teaches journalism and English Composition at Northern Essex Community College. She is also the faculty adviser for the college student newspaper the NECC Observer, which is not publishing a print issue right now but is being updated on its website.

Learning virtually can be a struggle and teaching can be a struggle too. Before this semester Shafer said she had never taught fully online.

She said, like many of her students, she has also struggled to stay focused during this stressful time.

The work environment made it tough to stay focused during this pandemic and attention span has gotten shorter, she said. Teachers also had resources to help them out during this time as well and she took a class this summer on how to design online courses.

The professor stated that she had some helpful resources, including coaches this summer ot help her design online courses.  She said that she knows many people have struggled with staying motivated during this pandemic and that she realizes it has been hard for the students as well.

“This affected professors in college as well,” she said. “Everybody had different struggles …. because everybody had a different experience …. but everyone did struggle during this new transition from working on campus to working from home.”

Being a student and teacher during this pandemic has been a struggle for many students and professors in schools, not just Northern Essex Community College. My sources all had a different experience, different issues but they all can relate to one another’s struggle.

COVID-19 continues to tear through the world, through the United States, and through Massachusetts. It continues to reach and affect people throughout the Haverhill community, and in other surrounding communities. And since the pandemic first reached this area, it has hit home for numerous college and high school students, like Sabine Smith, Jason Curry, and Hannah Longo.

The coronavirus has affected over 35.8 million people worldwide. Around one million people have died. In the U.S alone, around 7.53 million people have contracted the virus and more then two hundred thousand have died. In Massachusetts, the total number of cases is around 130,000, and the number of deaths is up to 9,500.

In Essex County, Mass., which includes cities like Haverhill, there are about 20,600 with 1,300 deaths.

Back in March, lockdown had just begun, nobody was really aware of how destructive the virus actually was.

Sabine Smith, a student at Northern Essex Community College, said she had not been taking the virus seriously at all.

“School had closed down, but nobody was sure for how long. I think I thought the virus would pass us by,” she said. “I was following protocols and everything, but I was sort of oblivious to what was going on. I’d be texting or facetiming my friends, and we’d just be joking about everything. It was funny to us. Being on social media was like that too. Everyone was making jokes and acting like it wasn’t a big deal, so I wasn’t worrying about it.”

Her mindset changed quickly, however. Just a few weeks into quarantine, Smith learned that her grandfather had contracted the coronavirus.

“I remember my mom told me, and I just didn’t believe her. I had the idea that it wasn’t going to happen to anyone I knew,” she recalls. “I was worried. But I also didn’t want to tell anyone else. I feel like there was a stigma around the virus at that point in time.”

It was an excruciating time for her and her family. Her grandfather, and her grandmother, who did not test positive but quarantined with her grandfather, were both in the age bracket of those most heavily affected by COVID-19. At the time, the virus was still emerging, and so nobody knew much about it. Smith remembers how terrifying the whole thing was. She, along with the rest of her family, had to quarantine for two weeks, but they did not have the virus. Everyday, they would check in with her grandparents, and would drop things off at their house.

“Thankfully, they weren’t super sick from it, but it was still worrying.” said Smith. “My grandparents have always been really healthy, so it was hard for everyone to adjust. Thankfully, they were only sick for about two weeks, and it doesn’t seem like they have any lasting effects from it. I know that they were incredibly lucky.”

The social aspect was hard for her family. Her grandparents live close by, and they are always seeing them, so to be cut off like that was hard on both ends.

The stress of being separated from a loved one under such uncertain circumstances is a struggle for many people, and it hit Jason Curry, an Essex-Technical High School student, especially hard. Prior to the pandemic, his older brother had been traveling quite a bit, and he had been unable to see him. His brother had been in Europe from January, was supposed to come home in March, but held off due to the virus.

“He came back in April. He had to get tested, and then we found out he had COVID. It was like we barely got to see him.” said Curry. “We’d all been really missing him, and then as soon has he got back, he had to quarantine in his apartment.”

His brother was alone during his whole period of quarantine. Curry’s mother had been going to check on him, but then she tested positive, and the whole family had to quarantine.

“At that point, I don’t think they were testing people unless they showed symptoms. My mom started showing symptoms, so she got tested and she was positive. Everyone else in my family was asymptomatic, so we didn’t get tested. The doctors told us to just stay home for two-three weeks, and if we started showing symptoms, we should get tested.” Curry remembers. “It was hard because my school had just made the transition to online, and I was trying to focus on that, and I was also trying to facetime my brother, because I wanted to make sure he was doing okay. It was hard to talk to him though, because he was really tired. It was just upsetting because none of us had seen him for so long, and then he immediately got sick. But I’m just grateful nobody in my family got super sick, because a few friends of mine actually lost people to the virus”.

Curry said that being directly affected by COVID changed his perspective on the virus. Before his family members got it, he had thought people were overreacting about it.

“I didn’t really believe that the virus was that serious. But then, you actually see what it does first hand. I wish I hadn’t underestimated it before,” said Curry. “I’m glad that everyone was able to recover, but I feel stupid for disregarding the virus before.”

Hannah Longo, a junior at Pentucket Regional High School, was also skeptical about the virus. And then she saw how dangerous it actually was. Longo’s cousin had been traveling overseas. She returned in late March, and soon after, began exhibiting COVID symptoms.

“I’m not that close with that side of my family. I was concerned, but my cousin was doing okay,” said Longo. “Then it turned out that basically all my aunts, uncles and cousins on that side of the family tested positive. I had no idea that the virus was like that.”

Longo’s immediate family had not been in contact with any of the members who had tested positive, so they were not worried about contracting the coronavirus themselves. They were worried, however, about Longo’s grandparents. They had been in contact with the positive family members. Her grandparents were elderly, and both had multiple pre-existing conditions.

“We found out they were positive about a week after my other family members tested positive. Within a few days of them testing positive, they were both in the hospital.” said Longo. “It was really horrifying. They were doing fine, and then immediately, they were on ventilators. It was really shocking.”

A week after testing positive, Longo’s grandfather passed away. Only a few days later, her grandmother passed as well

‘It was awful.” Longo recalls. “It had only been a week or so, and the virus acted so quickly”.

It was hard for Longo. She had not seen her grandparents for quite awhile, and it upset her that nobody had been able to say goodbye. She had to try to do her best in her online classes, and try to help out her family members.

“It was tough because we couldn’t have a funeral, we couldn’t properly say goodbye,” said Longo. “It was hard to move on, because we couldn’t do any of the things that people do to move on.”

Longo’s family eventually held a small memorial service, which she feels helped them get through. Her family began to recover from the shock, and the trauma.

“It’s still hard, but slowly, we’ve been managing.” Longo said. “I wanted to add that before this happened, I was unaware of how devastating the virus was, but now I’m trying my best to follow the protocols and stay up to date on the information surrounding the pandemic. I just wish it hadn’t taken the loss of my grandparents to make me see that.”

For these three students, the effects of the virus showed them its seriousness.

But they are worried that others who were not directly affected still do not understand.

“I’m glad not everyone has to go through this,” said Longo. “But that’s why I’m glad to share my story. I want to help educate those who may have been like me. I know many people feel like the pandemic won’t affect them, but I want them to see what it can really do. It is still present in our community, and it can still affect you or your family members.”