What a whirlwind this has been, huh?
Here we are, having survived a presidential election, a pandemic and a horrifying semester. We’ve overcome a lot together.
This is our last print edition for the semester, but this isn’t the last you’ll see of Basement Medicine in 2020. We will be producing an Issue 6, but it will go completely online!
I am beyond proud of the NVU-Johnson community for the care and concern we’ve displayed this semester. We have two weeks to go– now is the time to buckle down and get the finals done before we all get to stuff ourselves with turkey and mashed potatoes. Keep wearing masks and staying safe, and we’ll be COVID-free all semester.
It’s going to be a tough winter and a tough couple of months. I’m going to miss people on campus terribly, but I’m glad we got to spend this time together here, having some sense of normalcy. Even if it meant 6 feet apart, not hugging or sharing food.
To my out-of-state friends, I wish you all the good health and safety in the world. I can’t wait to see you back on campus in February.
Remember, now is not the time to check out and say, “we’re in Vermont, the virus isn’t actually here,” or “Now that Biden’s in office, I can stop worrying about politics.” We have the world at our fingertips, and we need to keep thinking and being engaged.
We need to keep letting our politicians and leaders know what we want from them– they are elected officials and should be the voice of the people. Biden, while an infinitely better choice than Trump, is not immune to criticism and shouldn’t be.
Even closer to home, holding our representatives and school leaders accountable is imperative. We didn’t elect the Board of Trustees, but the backlash in April shows they’re listening, at least a little bit. The NCHEMS report, which you can read about on page 3, was disappointing for many because it showed they didn’t really do their research on NVU. But our representatives, Senator Baruth and Representative James were very vocal about that misstep, and it seems the report will be corrected to fix these mistakes. Those two are just articulating what we know up here on the ‘campus on the hill:” liberal arts is imperative to our mission and a mainstay in our history. The liberal arts ain’t going anywhere– that much is clear.
To infinity and beyond. Stay safe.

-Rebecca Flieder, Editor in Chief