Here’s how the Collegian’s staff is staying busy during the quarantine. Graphic by Joshua Doering.
THE BUTLER COLLEGIAN | SPRING 2020 STAFF
Social distancing and stay-at-home orders have forced journalists around the world to get creative. Here are some of the ways the Collegian’s staff members are keeping themselves occupied during the coronavirus pandemic.
Emma Beavins, opinion columnist:
Curbside grocery pick-up is likely one of the greatest inventions of our time — especially in the middle of a pandemic. Shoppers can simply pull up in their vehicles to the designated section of the parking lot, pop their trunks and have a store employee load their groceries for them. How convenient!
However, with a flood of mobile orders in past weeks, my family’s typical Kroger pick-up has gone from bad to worse. After days of waiting for our appointed time — and my new favorite part of the week — I unloaded our unusually heavy bags to find a sea of Gala apples. Instead of receiving eight singular apples as we were expecting, we received eight bags of eight apples. Yes, we came home with 64 apples for a whopping $3.50 and little else to show for our dangerous adventure into the real world.
Doug Roche, assistant culture editor and social media manager:
Those who know me well know that I am avid about the jump rope. It is an excellent, low-impact cardiovascular exercise, but I have also found it useful when I need to get into a creative flow or just clear my mind of stress or uncertainty. A lot of people ask me about advice on how to avoid getting tangled or whipped by the rope, and the only answer to that is consistency — another overlooked benefit of exercise in general. When you make something that is challenging part of your daily routine, it allows you to shift your focus away from everything else for a little bit, especially the things you may be tired of thinking about. And no, I have no business in an octagon or a boxing ring — for now.
Meghan Stratton, managing editor:
I’ve been spending my quarantine teaching my boyfriend’s dog Jed some new tricks. He’s got a ton of energy and loves to hang out outside, so I taught him to jump and catch a stick from my hand. There were definitely some accidental body slams in the training process, but now he can do it almost every time. For me, staying surrounded by furry friends and spending time outdoors have made these scary times a bit easier.
Caitlin Segraves, culture reporter:
My day-to-day life is filled with homework constantly interrupted by my TikTok addiction. The only thing I truly look forward to now is my bi-daily walk with my dad and our two dogs. The taller one is Blaze. He’s almost 13 years old and we are so lucky he’s still taking these walks with us, so we let him choose which route to walk that day. Holly is shorter and a little chunkier. She’s about seven years old and completely chaotic. She’s amazingly sweet but her default setting is to run everywhere all the time.
These pictures are from walking them before, during and after it rained. We thought we had caught a break before the rain would hit but we got caught in a heavy drizzle and tried to take shelter under trees, despite there being a gazebo a short walk away. The dogs got a little bit wet, not that they minded, and they were just too cute to not take pictures of them.
Joshua Doering, digital managing editor:
The lack of daily commitments has left me with an abundance of free time that had not existed in my life since my freshman year at Butler. Using that newfound free time on hobbies that normally would not fit into my schedule has been a bright spot for me in this extremely challenging situation.
Running is my stress reliever. It’s my time to be alone with my thoughts and regroup emotionally. I took this picture during one of my runs on the Monon Trail in Broad Ripple.
I started playing guitar in high school and haven’t had time to practice on a consistent basis in college. This pandemic has provided an opportunity for me to play on a daily basis and learn some new things, such as the introduction to Kelsea Ballerini’s “Homecoming Queen.” The song is about not pretending like things are OK when they aren’t, a crucial reminder with all of the uncertainty right now.
