Jeff Rankin, the Monmouth College Editor and Historian, gives some insight on how the current pandemic compares to past epidemics, and what it means for the future of the college:
“When we were first going into this, we did a little research into the 1917 pandemic. It was one of those things where it was a brief few months, and then we snapped out of it, and everybody forgot about it and went on. Well, this one is ten times more impactful, and I think historians a hundred years from now will be looking back at Monmouth College or wherever and say this is a turning point. I think a lot of colleges were at a turning point anyway. So if Monmouth can ride this wave of uncertainty and get beyond it, I think we’ll be a much stronger place. It’s something we’re all pretty positive about.”