Dear MiDE 300 Students,
We wanted to touch base initially to update you on our course now that Bucknell has decided to shift to a remote model of education for the remainder of the semester. Little did we know when discussing ambiguity a few weeks ago that we would be thrown into such an ambiguous national and global set of circumstances. Hopefully we can all draw on what we learned during these sessions in this situation. In particular, recall that ambiguity and anxiety go hand-in-hand, so think about some of the things you can do to reduce anxiety you may be experiencing.
We are taking a MiDE mindset while contemplating how to adjust the course for the remainder of the semester. Over spring break, we have been reassessing and going back to the design stage of identification, which you will be reading about in preparation for our next lesson. The two paramount factors that will constrain the solutions we consider are: 1. all of your personal well being over the coming weeks; 2. having the most meaningful learning experience that we can. We will be iterating solutions over the next half-week in light of changing circumstances and be in touch with our final thoughts as they coalesce.
In closing, when reading about uncertainty and ambiguity, we did encounter the question of why we presume we can anticipate the future with any degree of certainty. At the same time, science has been the primary, though imperfect, tool we use to adapt to anticipated changing conditions. Right now, the scientific consensus is that social distancing is an important technique that we all need to deploy now to mitigate the magnitude of the eventual effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Our one request to you is that you all do your very best to hunker down, not travel, and avoid crowding as much as possible. For example, if you return to campus to move out, don’t plan to socialize, party, etc. We know it is tempting, but hopefully this article provides a compelling rationale for you to resist such urges, no matter what your friends are saying or doing.
We will be back in touch next week with more details. In the meantime, view this coming period of social distancing as an opportunity to be with close friends or loved ones, and be thankful we have such effective technology to stay in touch without having to interact face-to-face.
Be smart,
Profs. Allen and Smith
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