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September 8, 2021
Remembrance Service to Be Held for Marissa Borst
By Olivia Slack, Co-Editor in Chief
On Wednesday, Sept.
22 at 10 a.m., a Remembrance
Service will be held for student
Marissa Borst, '24, who died on
Aug. 1, 2021. The service will
be held in the grassy area in
front of Jones Chapel. Because
the service will be held out
side, there is no RSVP required
and social distancing will be
enforced. In case of rain, the
service will be held inside Jones
Chapel, which can accomodate
150 people.
Chaplain Stacy Pardue
told The Herald that the Col
lege has held a service such as
this whenever there has been a
student death and that the ser
vice "honors the student, sup
ports the family members and
helps the campus grieve and
support one another."
Marissa's mother, Van
essa Borst, described Marissa
as an active student in high
school who hoped to continue
that involvement at Meredith.
Ms. Borst said that Marissa was
an avid reader, loved Broad
way musicals and hoped to be
involved in theatre productions
at Meredith. Marissa was a re
cipient of the Meredith Legacy
Scholarship, and she was a
psychology major who "wanted
to open her own practice one day
and help children" according to
her mother. She was also in
volved with
the Meredith
Autism Pro
gram (MAP)
and her
mother said
she loved
"times spent
with fellow
classmates
and her Big
Sis."
Ms.
Borst shared
that Marissa
was diag
nosed with
bipolar II
disorder,
which she
described
as "a physi
cal disease,
a chemical imbal
ance, that affects you mentally."
Ms. Borst said, "The main thing
I'd like to convey is there is no
shame in dealing with anxiety,
depression or bipolar disease...!
just want [students] to under
stand that you need to talk about
your feelings...don't try to
go through this alone. Even
though this was conveyed to
Marissa many times, and she
talked with
me many
times about
them, the
disease can
fool your
brain into
thinking it
won't ever
get better.
Remember,
everything
is temporary
and won't
last forever.
Please reach
out to some
one if you
feel like you
need help."
For stu
dents strug-
Photo courtesy of Vanessa Borst gling with
Marissa's death,
Rev. Pardue said, "That's
normal when you come to ap
preciate and love someone. It's
the human condition. I would
encourage them to take some
time to be grateful for the ways
that Marissa touched their life.
Students Weigh In on Meredith’s Water Policy
By Maggie Barnhill, Staff Writer, and Shae-Lynn Henderson, Contributing Writer
As Meredith College’s fall
semester begins, the school’s
policies regarding COVID-19 for
the 2021-2022 school year are
being scrutinized by concerned
students. One policy prohibits
students from eating or drink
ing in class. This guideline, dif
fering from policies set in place
during the 2020-2021 school
year, restricts students from
using a straw under their mask
to drink water while in class.
While the College’s Community
Standards discourage eating or
drinking while indoors, they do
not directly say that students
are prohibited from drinking
water in class by using a straw
under their mask.
From an administra
tive perspective. Senior Vice
President and Provost Dr.
Matthew Poslusny responded
to a few questions regarding
the new COVID-19 guidelines
concerning food and drink in
the classroom. When asked why
students are unable to drink
from a straw under their mask
this year when they were able to
in the 2020-2021 school year.
Dr. Poslusny stated, “Last year,
students were seated six feet
apart, the majority of our classes
were either online or hybrid.
This year, in order to have more
classes on campus...we made the
decision to go to three feet seat
ing. In order for this to be suc
cessful, it is critical that masks be
worn correctly. That means no
gaps. When one drinks through
a straw, even for the briefest
of moments, that creates a gap
which allows for the transmis
sion of the virus.”
Dr. Poslusny also offered
insight into why students are al
lowed to eat and drink in build
ings such as the Cate Center and
Belk Dining Hall. “There are a
number of differences between a
classroom space and a space like
the dining hall,” he said. “These
factors include the size of spaces
and the ability for an individual
to choose whether to eat inside
the facility.” He also went on to
state that administration had
and to share those with oth
ers who knew her and are also
grieving." She added, "There...
may be students or others on
campus that are personally
dealing with mental health is
sues and suicidal ideation, and I
would strongly encourage them
to seek immediate professional
help." Rev. Pardue also said she
is happy to speak with students
who need to process ideas about
death or suicide, and that they
can email her at pardues@mer-
edith.edu to set up an appoint
ment.
To make an appointment
at Meredith's Counseling Cen
ter, email counselingcenter@
meredith.edu or call 919-760-
8427. In a crisis, contact the
counselor on-call at 919-760-
8888 or the Critical Response
Team at 919-612-6350. Septem
ber is also Suicide Prevention
Month, and there are many
resources available from the
Suicide Prevention Lifeline and
the Crisis Text Line.
Read the extended version of
' this story with Ms. Borst'sfull
reflection on our website.
“consulted with the Director of
[the] Health Center and also
with the Assistant Director of
Disability Services so that we
could put into place a proce
dure that would protect the
health of our entire population
while taking into account the
needs of individuals. Disability
Services has been in touch with
students that have accommo
dations to eat in class, and they
have made alternative arrange
ments as needed.”
In his final statement.
Dr. Poslusny wanted to remind
everyone “that the requirement
has been put into place to keep
people safe and that it really
extends to all public indoor
spaces where food is not rou
tinely served.”
Hannah Taib, ‘22, a stu
dent athlete on the field hockey
team, said that she agreed with
some of her teammates that
having to step out of class in
order to drink water puts them
at a disadvantage. Taib said,
“People tend to forget that we
are still students—education
always comes first in order to
keep playing for Meredith Col
lege.” She explained that this
policy negatively impacts her
and her teammates because as
“student-athlete[s] in Division
III, [we] do not get to slack in
[our] classes.” Taib and her
teammates, like Kate Erb, ‘24,
don’t want to miss important
information to remain hydrated.
Erb said she now struggles with
“headaches and fatigue [that]
make it difficult to concentrate”
as a result of a lack of hydration
and the heat.
Looking after the Mer
edith students is at the heart of
all decisions made by Meredith
staff, but some students believe
the new guidelines about drink
ing water during class are not
the best way to keep Meredith
students safe.