Blog

The New Normal

September 6th, 2022 by Kenneth Abrahams

Normal, there is that word again. While working the other night at a college, one of the senior students I was working with, said that this was the first fall that felt “normal”. Of course, without even thinking about it, I said it still isn’t normal and immediately went on to explain why it wasn’t normal. Colleges and universities in the fall of 2022 are still facing significant staffing shortages, especially in the areas of student affairs and residence life. She agreed that the staffing levels in residence life are below what they were when she arrived in 2020, and we both felt that the mental states of students today were far different than they had been 4 years earlier. Maybe I was more sensitive to the word normal as on my drive to the school I was listening to a radio program discussing how the CDC, Dr. Fauci, and others had handled the virus and that a number of scientific studies pointed out that masking and closing schools had done more harm than good to younger people. They also discussed that some universities as well as K – 12 school systems were either reinstituting or continuing mask mandates. With all of that swirling around how could we possibly use the word normal?

There was a possibility that we wouldn’t have fresh content for this week’s blog, so Debi, who edits my blogs and publishes our newsletter, had sent over a few blogs that we had run in years past, thinking that we could simply refresh them a bit and reuse them. As I read through one of them a light went off. In all my discussions and disdain of the word normal and where we are in the world today, I forgot that there are still students and families that are embarking on this journey and for them this is normal. For the last 2 weeks, I have been heavily immersed in Orientations, Welcome Weeks and the back to school experience. Large groups of fresh faces have passed by or interacted with me at the very start of their collegiate careers. I have forgotten what it is like for a parent to make that drive to the school for the very first time and pull up to a strange building with a large group of students and staff waving and cheering as their child exits the car. With both parents and students, there are huge emotional swings, excitement at this new chapter in their lives, and sadness as a previous chapter ends.

Clearly, I need to refocus. My feelings on the subject are irrelevant to most people and to be honest, somewhat jaded. Over the past few years, I have seen a number of really good people leave the field of higher education. Some of whom I have worked with for many years and it saddens and angers me to see them go. Burnout and frustration continue to be expressed over and over by people still working in higher education and that is still troubling, but I shouldn’t focus on who is not here, but instead shift my focus to who is here. There are some very deserving people that have gotten promotions as well as some new, fresh faces that have stepped up and taken on new roles. They will have the ability to reshape departments, and the field, in a new way. As my mother used to say, if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

In the short time that we have had in the fall of 2022, I have seen some things return to “normal”. Fewer and fewer students are wearing masks. There is no talk or concern about social distancing or limiting crowd sizes for fear of creating a “super spreader” event. In fact, I haven’t heard the term super spreader in ages. There are few, if any, restrictions for housing on campus and residence halls are once again teeming with students. Welcome weeks are packed with activities. It is nice to see hundreds of students showing up for trivia or big prize bingo. As in years past we get to hear the cheers for the winners and dismay expressed by those who lost, without those sounds being muffled by masks. Instead of seeing people come in single file to grab a to go box meal, dining halls and food courts are filled with students. Parents can actually go in and see where their kids will be living, meet the roommates and their families, and help unpack, instead of dropping them at the curb and waving good bye. We have returned to a time of tearful goodbyes; where hugs last a bit to long for the students’ comfort, and last minute instructions to “study hard” and “don’t forget to text” are again being given face to face and not hastily shouted through a rolled down car window. Tears are flowing, unabashedly, for all to see as unmasked parents and students part company.

Orientation groups are allowed to meet face to face and do all the activities that they used to do prior to spring of 2020. Large groups of first year and transfer students are wandering around campus, sometimes lost, sometimes simply exploring what their new environments have to offer. They peer into bingo games, movies, or other activities and decide if they want to avail themselves of those opportunities or not. For them, it feels like a “normal” first week or 2 at college.

It may not be normal for me, or FUN Enterprises, as we are still plagued by higher material costs, supply issues, and staffing shortages, but recently we too have had an influx of some new staff. They are also bringing a different energy as well as new ideas to our organization. Yes, like a number of our clients, we have lost some great people, but some of the new people that we have added could also have an equally positive impact on our organization.

Perhaps, it is time for me to embrace this new normal, to accept the fact that our business and the world are not the same as they were pre-December 2019.  We are here now with a different set of challenges.  Whatever we want to call where we are currently at in this post pandemic world, my clients, and the folks that they are working with and for, have every right to expect me to be all in and not worried about looking backwards. It is going to be different, but I am okay with that. One thing that hasn’t changed is my belief that we as a company, and I as an individual, are here to help provide a positive experience to the groups that we work with and the events that we are a part of. Looking forward to a normal fall.

About the author

It has been said that a large modern cruise ship traveling at about 20 knots can take up to 1 mile to come to a complete stop. So, stopping and turning around can be a long process. Perhaps, the same can be said about Ken Abrahams as he can be slow to come about in his thinking. This whole “normal” thing has been sticking in his craw for a long time. Ken lives outside of Boston with his wife of almost 35 years and his 2 dogs Ricky and Ralph. For more of his musings check out previous blogs or read the FUN Newsletter.

To find out more about the company go to our website www.funent.com you can also go to this link to sign up for our newsletter which comes out about 6 times a year https://funent.com/subscribe-to-the-funny-pages/.  Our newsletter will tell you more about the company and the products and services we offer as well as some games, things to do and the occasional cooking tip.