Twitter user Saige (@saigedara), who lists herself as a student of the University of Maryland, has gone viral on Twitter for calling out a UMD professor who apparently, despite hearing the news that Saige's father passed away as a result of COVID-19, encouraged her to get her project done on time.
@UofMaryland I simply asked my prof for a few days extension on a project because MY DAD died as a result of covid1… https://t.co/QH9jvSkYpO— Saige (@Saige) 1588163743.0
In a follow-up tweet, Saige claimed that same professor encouraged her to make it to their zoom class meeting on the day of her father's funeral.
COVID-19 is creating unexpected circumstances around the world. For college students, classes have been moved online and students have been sent home from campus to help contain the spread on-campus and in local communities.
While that creates some confusion as to how to properly navigate a college semester despite the circumstances, it shouldn't leave to question how we care about and for what people are going through in their personal lives.
Saige's tweet has received a lot of attention because it brings up an important topic of conversation in terms of pandemics and situations that cannot possibly be accounted for — how do we continue to live in a world that is changing while also having empathy that change is going to look vastly different from person to person?
Exams, important class information, commencements, and other college things are not nearly as important as losing someone in your family and attending their funeral. Especially your dad.
But in times of unexpected and radical change, it's important that we come together and prioritize gentleness and humanity over deadlines, exams, meetings, and classes.
Certainly, Saige's story is something we can all resonate with and learn from. How do we, in our lives, prioritize our work, output, and obligations over our health, family, and circumstances?
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