College President Zooms with Students Isolated Due to Virus

 

At the end of every workday, Debra Schwinn gets on a Zoom¹ call. As the new president of Palm Beach Atlantic University in Florida, she is talking to her students. Many of them are alone in quarantine because of the coronavirus.

Zoom is an internet-based video conferencing service.

Schwinn is also a medical doctor. She worries about how coronavirus restrictions² might be affecting the students at the small Christian³ school she leads.

As few as one and as many as 15 students have taken part in the series of 20-minute calls. Schwinn checks on their mental and physical health during the meetings. She tries to lift their spirits. And she asks them if the university is meeting their needs.

The Zoom calls have Schwinn the chance to meet students and build rare relationships as a college president.

"It was the one unique thing I could do," she said. "Who, besides myself, could Zoom every night, really get a feeling for what is working from a systems perspective⁴ and give that caring, personal touch?"

Palm Beach Atlantic has 3,600 students. Schwinn's leadership there began in May. Before arriving, she was dean⁵ of the medical school at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.

The quarantined students speak to a health care worker every day. They attend classes online. They receive food in their rooms. But Schwinn knows that being alone for days or weeks can cause serious mental health problems.

Tabitha Maher is studying music at Palm Beach Atlantic. She has been in quarantine three times after showing possible signs of COVID-19. She said the physical separation from others was emotionally⁶ difficult. But, the Zoom calls helped her feel less alone.

When Schwinn learned⁷ Maher is a singer, she asked the student to perform for a Zoom meeting. Maher sang In My Dreams from the musical Anastasia.

"It is really rewarding to talk to other people who are going through a similar situation," said the 20-year-old Maher, adding, "the president of the university is looking out for you, and she wants to hear your voices, your concerns and what is going on."

Palm Beach Atlantic decided⁸ last summer to permit students to return to classrooms. Now, students and employees must answer an online list of health questions every day to gain entrance to the university's public spaces. Everyone is required to wear covers over their mouths and noses. In class, students are separated by clear, plastic barriers.

Schwinn said the school's average weekly infection rate has been less than 1 in 300 people. There have been no deaths or hospitalizations, she added.

The university has repurposed one building to serve as quarantine housing⁹. Anyone who becomes infected must move into it and stay until they are well.

Pablo Castillo is a Palm Beach Atlantic business student from Guatemala. He said students on the Zoom calls decided to take daily walks to a nearby park. They talk and visit there while staying a safe distance from each other.

Castillo praised President Schwinn's actions and plans to behave similarly¹⁰ in the future as a business leader.

"This is a great example, to take a step down and connect with people," Castillo said.

Words in This Story

quarantine – adj. the period of time during which a person or animal that has a disease¹¹ or that might have a disease is kept away from others to prevent the disease from spreading

unique – adj. used to say that something or someone is unlike anything or anyone else

anesthesiologist – n. doctor who specializes¹² in anesthesia or ways of putting people in a state of non-awareness

symptom – n. a change in the body or mind which indicates that a disease is present

reward – v. to give some kind of payment¹³ to (someone or something) for something good that has been done

partition¹⁴ – n. a wall or screen that separates one area from another

1 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

2 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

3 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

4 perspective   

n.视角，观点，想法

参考例句：

• You can get a perspective of the whole city from here.从这里你可以看到城市的全景。
• We may get a clear perspective of the people's happy lives.我们知道人民对幸福生活的展望。

5 Dean   

n.(大学)院长，系主任，教务长

参考例句：

• The students much like the new dean.学生们很喜欢这位新系主任。
• Who is the dean of the Foreign Languages Department?外语系主任是谁？

6 emotionally   

adv.感情上，情绪上，冲动地

参考例句：

• a special school for emotionally disturbed children 为精神异常儿童开办的特殊学校
• A wide range of emotionally stressful events may trigger a relapse. 多种令人情绪紧张的事情都可能引起旧病复发。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 housing   

n.房屋，住宅；住房建筑；外壳，外罩

参考例句：

• Do you think our housing sales will turn around during this year?你认为今年我们的住宅销路会好转吗？
• The housing sales have been turning down since the summer.入夏以来，房屋的销售量日趋减少。

10 similarly   

adv.类似地，相似地

参考例句：

• He was late and I similarly was delayed.他迟到了，我也晚了。
• These two pages are similarly glued together.这两页好像粘在一起了。

11 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

12 specializes   

v.专门从事，专攻( specialize的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She specializes in obstetrics. 她是产科专家。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cinema specializes in Italian films. 这家电影院专门放映意大利电影。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 payment   

n.付款，支付，偿还，偿还，报应

参考例句：

• I gave ten pounds in payment for the goods I bought.我买那些东西付了10英镑。
• This last payment will wipe out your debt to me.这最后一笔付款将了结你欠我的债务。

14 partition   

n.分开，隔板，隔开；vt.分割，隔开

参考例句：

• She tapped on the glass partition and the car stopped.她轻轻敲击玻璃隔板，汽车便停了下来。
• There is a plywood partition between the two rooms.两个房子中间有一个夹板墙。