On Monday, March 30 2020, Gov. Bill Lee signed executive order 22, which will be in effect from Tuesday, March 31, at 11:59 p.m. until April 14, 2020.
This executive order will make all nonessential businesses throughout the state close until April 14, 2020. You can go out for essential services or activities as long as you follow the CDC’s health guidelines.*
Over 600 physicians had signed a letter asking Lee to order a shelter-in-place order, which means that you have to stay inside your house unless you have an essential reason to be out. California has done this, but so far Tennessee has not.
Instead of the shelter-in-place order, Lee has issued a “Safer at Home.”
“This is not a mandated ‘shelter-in-place’ order because it remains deeply important to me to protect personal liberties,” Lee said.
Due to this executive order 22, most offices at UTM will be closed. Faculty and staff will, however, still be working from home, and a limited number of students who have no internet access at home have been granted permission to remain on campus.
The 24-hour computer lab in the Paul Meek Library will remain open to students (and staff), but the rest of the library will be closed starting Wednesday, March 31.
With social distancing recommended, online education mandated and a transition away from the UTM campus also mandated, students have reacted to the new situation with negative and positive observations.
“My biggest challenge has been adapting to a new routine after losing my daily routine that came with scheduled classes,” said Richard Stephens, a senior Criminal Justice major from Leoma, Tennessee.
Caden Johnson, a junior Plant and Soil Science major from Linden, Tennessee, agreed.
“It’s been hard staying home because I don’t have a definite schedule of when to do homework so I can’t keep on task,” he said.
“Given that I recently made a significant change in my major, it has been particularly difficult to not only adjust to the life of my new major, but I now also have to adjust to both that and the increasing threat of the coronavirus within our nation,” said Kelvin Grant, a junior Vet Tech major from Memphis, Tennessee.
However, Kendyll Gateley, a junior Psychology major from Humboldt, Tennessee, said she was all right with the transition to online education.
“I think it’s easier to take online courses on my own time. I can do my work whenever I want,” Gateley said.
