Bodhi Jordan/Staff Reporter
Current times are strange. As the first quarter draws to a close and the second one brings with it new questions of safety, students are showing a mixed attitude of concerns and carelessness for the rules. Among these, students studying arts at Gleneagle are feeling a special impact. Not being able to be hands-on in the same way with materials has had an impact on students. Among these students is Aaron Hunter, grade 12, who has been affected greatly both in and out of school.
Hunter has participated in drama, musical theatre, studio arts, and graphic arts at Gleneagle, as well as running Poetry Club in the 2019-2020 school year. As someone so involved in the arts community at Gleneagle, her opinion on the topic has been less than glowing.
“I find it hard to fully participate in classes with so many measures in place. I appreciate the measures and the safety, but it is difficult to see how much the art courses have changed,” said Hunter. In terms of safety, she finds that the safety is restrictive and makes learning harder. However, Hunter has also said that she appreciates the safety that teachers have been trying to put in place as people are still in a pandemic.
“I’ve seen a lot of help from teachers trying to adapt classes, especially with virtual options and assignments that students can complete safely,” Hunter went on to say.
As Hunter is a poet by trade, she has found that poetry shows have been cancelled left and right. Art shows haven’t been “going on lately”, and she feels the impact of that greatly. While she still loves the medium and fundamentally believes that the regulations put in place are for the best, she also misses being able to perform and participate in the art forms she loves most.
The consensus of the people I have interviewed about the pandemic so far has been largely one of concern, both for safety and a return to status quo. Not being able to participate in the habits and interests they hold has held a toll on their mental health. Students hold out hope for the future, but the present is threatening the mental health of some students, whether from stress due to work, not being able to work at what they love, or from the lack of concerns shown by many students.
The future where normal is returned is far off, yet hope people still look like they are holding out for it. Through all of the pain, people are still shining through trying to keep hopeful and working on forms of art that are safe to practice from home, from virtual stage performances to traditional painting. I’ll be covering some of these art forms over the next few months of school, showing light within the pandemic.