Being together gave us a whole other support group with everything that is going on, Jaskaneic, a sophomore, said.
Gratitude was the common thread among the athletes I encountered at all three schools. Enduring the unknown would be a little easier if they could at least train together.
Thats how Wisconsin band members Josh Richlen and Laura Dunnum felt about returning to practice, too. When we met, they could only practice in groups of 25 and march abiding by social distancing regulations. And they have tried to restrict their interactions to protect themselves and maintain their ability to practice. Richlen lives with five band members, Dunnum lives with nine.
During one of the very first music rehearsals with the prospective members, I was just sitting there watching and listening and the first time they played On Wisconsin it was almost a very emotional thing to hear, Richlen said, noting the universitys fight song. We would have heard that a thousand times by now.
With every ounce of optimism and gratitude comes a bit of realism.
Just two hours after I left the campus, Chancellor Rebecca Blank sent a campuswide alert. All undergraduates were asked restrict their movements to essential activities and two dorms were placed on quarantine. The spike in coronavirus cases was out of control.read more
Big Ten Football May Be Back. The Atmosphere Isn’t.
