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An empty chair in Smith Plaza facing Zimmerman Library on Sept. 25, 2019

UNM goes online only for spring 2020

It's official.

The University of New Mexico announced Thursday that all classes that can go online will go online. The rest are canceled.

Throughout spring break, various components across UNM's main campus closed or restricted access piece-by-piece as a way to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. In New Mexico, 43 people have tested positive for the disease COVID-19 as of March 20, including 23 people in Bernalillo County.

"In these extraordinary times, extraordinary measures must be taken to safeguard our University community and maintain our educational mission," UNM President Garnett Stokes said in a statement.

Stokes stressed that campus is not closed, just restricted.

"There is no doubt these actions will prompt many questions, especially for our students," Stokes' statement read. "Please be assured that my leadership team and I are working hard to get you the answers and guidance you need as quickly and as accurately as possible."

For biochemistry major Ryan Regalado, the move to online classes won't be too difficult — but it’s not welcome.

"I love being on campus, so I'm kind of upset," Regalado said. "But I feel like it needed to be done."

Regalado, an undergraduate student government senator, said he'd most likely go home to live with his parents for the rest of the semester, returning to campus as necessary. Most of his classes are online, but some, including his lectures, might not transition so easily.

Noah Solomon, a Student Health and Counseling staff member and undergraduate student in the Department of Communication and Journalism, said he figured the move to online-only instruction was inevitable.

Solomon said he will graduate in the fall of 2020 and doesn't expect the coronavirus outbreak to affect that. Still, he was hesitant that all of his classes will transition online smoothly and exactly how the unprecedented outbreak will pan out.

"I'm not that worried about it," Solomon said, stressing the word "that." "My partner and I are in a pretty good position right now, (but) we still have to take the necessary precautions because we're both immunocompromised."

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Solomon also expressed resilience in his approach to living and learning in the era of COVID-19.

"We will move on from this at some point," Solomon said. "Right now, it's just going to be a little difficult, and we've got to do what we can."

Justin Garcia is the Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at editorinchief@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Just516garc

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