by Isa Hill ’20

When the news hit that Webb was closing for the semester and that students would have to take classes remotely, it was a shock for everyone. We, at Webb, are not accustomed to change. For some, home was not an option due to an at-risk relative, hands-on thesis, or other reasons. Thankfully, our Webb family was here to help. Eighteen students stuck around on campus, and we are experiencing a whole new Webb.

First, nearly all of the staff has left campus. Those of us who are still here had to take on a lot of the responsibilities of the staff that can no longer come in to support the campus. Chef Rob still cooks for us during the week, but we now help with dishes and cook our own meals on the weekends. Some of the staff who have stayed on campus, including Josie, Marissa, President Michel, and Rhonda have taken on new chores as well.

Another new aspect of life on campus is that a small group of us now have run of the whole place, including the new building. We can spread-out all-over campus to study, we can use the whole school’s pub and student kitchen (SK) stock, and we can use every couch and television on campus. Some have taken this to a greater extreme than others (see photo above).

Though so much has changed, and the campus is quite a bit emptier, some things never change at Webb. For one thing, our beautiful campus is jumping into spring with no care for coronavirus. The old and new cherry trees all over campus have bloomed, and the spring weather has begun.

Another thing that never changes is that we find ways to get away from our work. With the run of campus, and no way to leave, we even get outside quite a bit (a shock for Webb students, I know). We have found every possible way to entertain ourselves on campus. One student fixed up a motorbike that has spent years in the student garage so that we could race it on the dirt field that is the soccer field. Some students have taken on campus improvement, clearing out old storage spaces and fixing broken things around campus.

Even as we sit in the dining hall with a seat between each person, gather in groups no larger than five, and take classes on our computers in separate rooms, life still goes on at Webb. We miss the rest of our Webb family, and we wish we could have our usual spring party line-up, but we’ve found a new way to live at Webb. We have learned to adapt to the new Webb: to clean up after ourselves, to share everything from snacks to school supplies, to stay in touch with the outside world only through our computers (okay so not much has changed there), and to support each other through this crazy time. Though the semester doesn’t look quite like it normally does, the Webb family continues both on and off-campus. All our love to our family, friends, and classmates at home!

A Note from the Underclassmen at Webb:

by Shannon Liu ’21

For the underclassmen, we aren’t exactly near most of our classmates.  Although, we have made it work out. The juniors have an online classroom setting through Discord, and weekly JackBox game nights through Zoom and sometimes Discord depending on the internet connection. Most of our assignments these days are group or partner assignments, but we have been making it work. Distance just makes the heart grown fonder, and I think the reunion in the fall will be a very energetic one.