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How is the Scout staff doing during quarantine?

How has quarantine been for The Scout? Our staff lets you in on the highlights, the lowlights of what keeps us busy and our screen time. 

Samuel Mwakasisi – Copy Editor

Thanks to quarantine, my extremely introverted lifestyle has now become the benchmark for an upstanding member of society. The isolation has allowed me to center attention on several passion projects of mine, but more primarily to be more in tune with where I’m at mentally and cater to that as best as I can. However, it’s also made a lot of things I’m struggling with more apparent, like the general sense of uncertainty in how the semester will unfold, and having to knowingly make do with a significantly lessened college experience, which is pretty de-incentivizing. Everything can start to feel very non-permanent, which pushes me deeper into the only constant I know of at this rate: what’s going on inside.

The internet has made for a great best friend during these times since I can always support my mental state by finding the right film or album or general corner of cyberspace to drift away into. The best movie I’ve seen recently is “A Clockwork Orange,” and the best album I’ve heard is “Everywhere at the End of Time” by the Caretaker. This has had adverse effects on my screen time; my weekly average is 11 hours and my personal record is 13.5 straight hours.

 

Valerie Vasconez – Assistant News Editor

I’m staying off-campus this year, which has been pretty nice since I have space to stretch out and be under the sun in my backyard with my roommates and their pets. Not trying to dismiss them or my actual friends, but my best friends through quarantine have been my fish. While my betta fish doesn’t talk to me they’ve been getting me off of a device to care for them, although, we did make a TikTok together. My laptop screen time once got to 11 hours but can average out to five to six hours daily so those little moments away from class or homework helps.

Besides that, I noticed that I can actually make it to more events since they’re virtual. I don’t have to worry about walking to campus, finding somewhere to eat and then rush to a meeting, instead I can eat at the meeting because who is going to tell me not to? What’s not so great about quarantine is that it’s so easy to log in to lectures while I’m in bed and about 10 minutes later, I’m asleep. I’ve only done that once, but I know I could be more of an active listener if I moved elsewhere.

 

Angeline Schmelzer – Managing Editor

For much of quarantine, I’ve been going back and forth between getting my work done and watching TV. I finished season nine of “The Office” and watched Steve Carell’s “Space Force,” which has been nice and a much-needed break from reality. As I am in a single apartment, quarantine has been kind of lonely. Even though I have classes and people I talk to on the phone or through Zoom, time just seems to move even slower when you’re by yourself and not out-and-about. My best friend during quarantine would have to be the technology that connects me with my friends and family. Even though they can’t physically be here with me, technology makes it possible to at least talk with them, or maybe see them on a screen. It’s not the same, but I’ll take what I can get. I usually average to about seven hours on my laptop and less than three hours on my phone. However, during this quarantine I was on my laptop for more than 11 hours on Monday and Thursday.

Conor McEntee – Copy Editor

Quarantine has been nice in the fact that I get time to reflect and take things slower than I normally would. School can be such a rush of responsibilities and a race against time, but with quarantine, I’m able to take challenges, assignments and work one step at a time. Quarantine has not been nice in the fact that I am not able to see my friends face to face and hang out with them as usual. Zooming with them is still okay, but being in their presence just hits differently. My best friend during quarantine has been jazz music. It mellows me out while I’m studying, cooking or just reading for fun. If you want a good jazz album to check out, listen to “The Capitol Studios Sessions by Jeff Goldblum and The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra.” It’s my current favorite. The longest streak of hours spent on my computer had to have been three hours to watch a very important NFL game for fantasy football, while simultaneously getting an assignment in that same night.

Larry Larson – Sports Editor

I like being busy, so the past few weeks have been tough. However, the nicest part of quarantine has been spending time with all six of my roommates – they’ve kept me entertained.


The not so nice part of quarantine has been spending so much time with all six of my roommates. My best friend during quarantine has probably been Joey Wright, as he is conveniently located across the hall and we spend too much time editing this newspaper.

 

Jade Sewell – Voice Editor

Since quarantine began, I’ve enjoyed being able to spend more time with my cats and my roommates in a space that I feel comfortable in. However, it does suck having to grab Starbucks incognito … I mean um … not getting Starbucks anymore. (To be clear: this is definitely a joke. Please don’t fine me, President Standifird). Luckily, my best friend who goes to OSF is in the same boat. She’s online too and dealing with much harder classes, so we’re sharing our struggles. As of right now, my average daily Mac usage is four hours 43 minutes per day.

Anthony Landahl – News Editor

During quarantine, I’ve enjoyed the efficiency of getting all my work done in one location, not having to worry about the logistics of making lunch and dinner at the beginning of the day, and etching out time out to take leisure walks or a bike ride. However, I hate that I have to sit at my desk for hours on hand, and if it’s a busy day, then I am not leaving the apartment at all. It’s been pretty clear that my bedroom has been my best friend and I’ve grown to appreciate every nook and cranny and its best camera angles. My Fit Bit has not been my best friend. My daily average of time spent on my laptop? Eight and half hours.

Haley Johnson – Editor-in-Chief

While dressing up can be fun sometimes, I’ve really enjoyed dressing down during quarantine. Wearing pajama pants and slippers to all my virtual classes is truly an experience. I want things to “go back to normal” as much as the next, but until it does, I will be rocking my fuzzy polar bear pants. Quarantine has many many drawbacks, however. I miss my friends who don’t live with me. Socially distanced hang-outs were much better than none at all! My best friend during quarantine is, no doubt, my birdie Juno. He’s really loving the fact that I’m always home. He frequently makes appearances in all my virtual meetings, deeming me the “bird girl.” Although my Mac broke and I’m waiting for another to come, I estimate my screen time is at least 8 hours each day. I invested in some blue-light glasses because I’m concerned about the damage this virtual year will do to my vision!

Joey Wright – Assistant Sports Editor

Food is easy to eat and easier to buy. If I didn’t learn that during the first wave of quarantine in March and April, I’ve definitely felt that over the past two weeks. Treating myself has certainly been positive, but at the unfortunate cost of my figure and my wallet. But hey, what else is there to do?

As Larry Larson mentioned above, living under the same roof as six high-energy individuals has definitely been the saving grace of this quarantine. I was a little surprised that Larry chose me as his best friend given his inability to beat me in NCAA 14, but I appreciate the sentiment all the same. As that is (probably) his worst quality. I would say the same about him. As for screen time, I’ve averaged 2 hours and 5 minutes a day on my MacBook last week, and five hours and 41 minutes last week on my iPhone 7+, up 10 percent from the week prior. Yikes!

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