Guest Column: Campus Still Feels Dead, Years After Covid

Submitted by Twila Bruni, MHCC Funeral Service Education Student

Can you believe that we are already well into the year 2024? Somehow four years have flown by within the blink of an eye – and our lives as we know them have been changed forever, whether we like to admit it or not. 

It isn’t as if we all forgot about the treacherous time that was 2020. It seems as if we were all forced into the lifestyle of hermit crabs who learned to love life at home and take what we can get in the outside world. 

However, that was four years ago, and the pandemic is over, right? If this is true, why hasn’t life on the MHCC campus returned to normal? And, if you are new here, you are most likely unaware of the mass amenities that were provided to students here at one time.

Have you noticed that the word “winterization” seemed to spoil your plans on receiving a simple drink of water in your surroundings lately? Winterization is defined as the preparation for use in cold weather. Sometimes “working on something” doesn’t have the same outcome as “getting something done.”

So, why have these signs claimed the local territory of Mt. Hood water fountains since 2020? 

Well fellow students, my guess is as good as yours. 

Never mind the water fountains; could you go for a soda? 

Haven’t you noticed? Almost every vending machine gives an error when trying to use a card or cash. But, if you are one of the lucky few who find a machine that works, what a shame that the product is likely expired (given the good-before date)! 

Quench your thirst at the Library café, perhaps? Well, you better be on your toes because they close at 2 p.m. daily. 

Imagine being allowed as a student to embalm bodies for hours on end (as I, a Funeral Service Education student, do) with no viable option to have clean water to drink. Not to mention all the other massive numbers of students who are dealing with this in other areas of the campus. 

What about those who are disabled? Of course, not every water fountain is closed but wouldn’t some simple effort and consistency make all the difference?

One finds themself asking the simple question of, are we fully open on campus? 

Did we as students pay the full price to be here? If this campus is fully open, why isn’t the beloved cafeteria open, as well? Why aren’t our vending machines stocked with non-expired products? Why don’t we have viable options for drinking water around every corner?

This school was built strongly and fully equipped in the late 1960s/early 1970s. We have been known to have an Olympic-style swimming pool and many various amenities, which appeal to every student, yet we as a student body are now deprived of the simple basics due to the past. What is it about the pandemic that has left a chokehold on our society? As horrible as it was, we deserve to move past it. Perhaps the fear of returning to this lifestyle brings about a fear of being stuck in a partially open campus limbo. 

Do you, too, feel like you are stuck in the abyss of a ghostlike campus that once was?