Linfield President Miles K. Davis announced in an all-campus email yesterday that the college will switch to online-only learning through the end of the academic year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision followed Gov. Kate Brown’s initiative of prohibiting in-person university classes through April 28. This is also in conjunction with the statewide K-12 school closures. 

A week ago today students learned that spring break will begin a week early, and after the break classes would be moved to online-learning only. Following this announcement, a lot of students opted to go home for their extended time off. 

On that same day, spring sports athletes heard their seasons were being suspended. A few days later on Monday the Northwest Conference president announced all spring sports seasons were officially discontinued. 

In the email, Davis said this decision is to provide greater certainty for the community, which has faced many changes over the past week. 

Students will have an option to stay in the residence halls and eat in the dining hall if they choose, but the housing staff sent out an email stating that those choosing to stay might have to move to another on-campus residence.  

A decision about whether to still hold Commencement and the nursing pinning ceremony will be made by April 10. 

“I felt sad, angry, and depressed that I didn’t get to finish out the end of my senior year at the school I love,” Hannah Wakefield said about the decision to continue with online-learning. “I didn’t get to have the memories that the seniors in the past had or the seniors in the future will have.”

Coronavirus in Oregon

The Oregon Health Authority announced 13 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 this morning. This brings the statewide total to 88 people. The 13 new cases confirmed today are from the following counties: Linn (2), Marion (5), Multnomah (4) and Washington (2).

Two more people have died from COVID-19 in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to three from the virus, according to the Oregon Health Authority. The cases are a 60-year-old woman in Lane County and a 71-year-old man in Washington County. Both had underlying medical conditions.