The Bakersfield College Faculty hosted an online panel to inform students and other faculty to stay healthy, mentally, and physically through this unprecedented time. The panel discussion took place on March 24. 

“All the preparedness in the world did not prepare us for this,” David Riess, a BC sociology and psychology faculty member, said.

The panel consisted of BC President Sonya Christian, Director of Information Technology Todd Coston, Nursing Faculty Cindy Collier, Athletic Director Sandi Taylor, Counseling Faculty Fabiola Johnson, and David Riess. 

The main focus of the discussion was to stay healthy mentally and physically, by getting exercise and staying connected on a daily basis. 

“Don’t panic. We are going to get through this and we’ll feel better for it,” Collier said.

Her presentation focused on dealing with stress. For many, the shift from face-to-face to online has been difficult, according to a survey conducted by the Office of Institutional Effectiveness at BC. Not only that, many have changed their lifestyle from going out to constantly being inside their home. 

“It is something that we have never done before and it is foreign to us,” Riess said. Collier explained that change is difficult and it could cause some stress in people’s lives. But there are different modes to deal with stress. The main thing is “focusing on what you can control.”  

She explained to stay active mentally and physically by establishing a routine and staying connected with others. “It’s social isolation not elimination,” Collier said.

“Now is the time to reach out to students even more so than ever,” Johnson said. She focused on the connection between faculty and students. There are many ways to connect with each other through technology. 

Taylor focused on the physical wellbeing. She explained that it is easy to just sit around all day during this time. Staying active is important to maintain a healthy life. 

The BC athletics department came out with a home workout resilience program to help students stay active. “The glass is half full and we have to find some positivity in it,” Taylor said. 

Riess focused on mental wellbeing. “To survive these difficult times, we have to find a new meaning,” Reiss said.

He explained that during this change to isolation people must find a new identity. 

“This is an opportunity to show you how amazing you are,” he said. 

Christian updated everyone on the cases of COVID-19 with the statistics from John Hopkins University. She also talked about how “BC is playing where the puck is going to be, not where the puck is.” She meant that BC prepared in advance to deal with COVID-19. She shared a timeline of what BC has done the past few weeks to prepare and prevent the spread of the virus in BC.