The message below was sent by Eleanor JB Daugherty, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs & Dean of Students, to students on all campuses on December 16, 2021
Subject: Spoiler Alert: You're Coming Back in January!
Dear Huskies,
First, happy birthday, PRLACC. As our Provost shared at a recent event, it’s impossible to imagine UConn without PRLACC and the incredible work it does to build a great community for all of us.
Speaking of PRLACC, I was listening to my friend Fany Hannon and a phrase she uses often stayed with me. It went something like this: “a dream is nothing more than the right thing to do.” I love that concept and how it calls us to act upon our dreams rather than sit permanently in the nostalgia of imagining what could be. Yet as we pursue these ‘dreams’ of ours we are also reminded that the journey to achieve these dreams is not easy and requires work, hardship, and the joy of achievement.
My dream is to welcome you back in the spring. I know it is the right thing to do because of how much you have benefitted by being together as a community. Yet that dream will involve a journey for all of us, to be able to open safely and with the greatest ability to be nimble and responsive to whatever curve balls COVID presents.
I think we are all experiencing the rigorous journey that accompanies achieving our dreams. For many of you right now, that’s finals. You worked so hard to get to UConn and every semester you are reminded of all that you have learned along the way in your journey to achieve your degree. On top of that, this pandemic has tried very hard to disrupt your dreams, yet you have persisted. That persistence should be a source of pride for all of you.
Several weeks ago, my advisory shared with me a feeling of what they called ‘toxic happiness.’ They were grateful to be back on campus. Yet it was hard and the joy they were experiencing was accompanied by apprehension: We are happy and scared. Relieved and anxious. Grateful for our health and worried about a new variant. They used the term ‘toxic happiness’ to describe this conflict we are all living with.
That conflict does not go away. Nor do our dreams. We should be proud of what we have accomplished. UConn has been restored as a place that welcomes thousands of students to learn in our classrooms, make friendships, and develop as scholars. We did that. There is great strength to be found in that achievement. But let’s not forget the journey.
That journey continues. Enjoy your holiday break. Be safe (wear a mask, get a booster, upload your booster info into the student health portal) and enjoy the rest that you so clearly deserve.
But know this: We will come back. We always have. There is no plan in place to close our residence halls or convert our classes to online only. If there was, I would tell you.
Could things change? Absolutely. Just to make sure that we are all on the same page and current on what we learn about COVID-19 during break, we will have a virtual forum with myself, Dr. Andy, SHaW, and other awesome people in early January. That forum is meant specifically for you and your families, and we will be sure to include your questions. More to come.
We will return. We will find strength from and among each other. That is my dream for all of you and I know it is the right thing to do.
Enjoy the break, families, friends, and all that we have accomplished together this semester.
All my best,
Eleanor JB Daugherty, EdD
she/her/hers
Associate Vice President and Dean of Students
For more information, contact: Janice Canniff at janice.canniff@uconn.edu