Coronavirus Impact at UTRGV and Beyond

Since December 2019, the coronavirus began spreading across China, originating in Wuhan. Then, as of April 3, 207 countries have identified cases of the virus. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), common symptoms include a fever, a dry cough and tiredness. Other symptoms are chest pain, and shortness of breath. According to WHO, around 80 percent of people who contracted COVID-19 recovered without needing special treatment. As reported by the Center for Disease Control, as of March 2020, there is no current vaccine to protect against COVID-19. Some people at risk include older adults, people with autoimmune diseases and disorders, pregnant women, people with chronic to severe lung disease and moderate to severe asthma, and people with heart conditions, to name a few.

           Across the United States, institutions such as the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley extended Spring Break to decrease the possible spread of the virus. Classes then resumed online until further notice.

          Additionally, the Rio Grande Valley community is experiencing closures of local businesses while residents are urged to stay home. Curfews are implemented from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. in Hidalgo county and from midnight to 5 a.m. in Cameron county.

Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr. ordered a “shelter-in-place” rule. This began at 12:01 a.m. on March 25, 2020 and ends at 11:59 p.m. April 8, 2020 unless “it is extended, rescinded, superseded, or amended in writing by the Cameron County Judge” according to the governing document. On March 25, Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez issued a shelter-at-home order to be taken effective on March 26.

UTRGV

            As stated by Guy Bailey, UTRGV’s president, departments and services are scheduled to function normally.  

One of these services includes the Food Pantry, located in Cavalry Hall rooms 101 and 102 in Brownsville and the University Center room 114 in Edinburg. The food provider is open to students who “have been impacted by financial problems/conditions and… experiencing difficulty meeting their basic need of adequate nutrition,” according to its home page. 

The pantry sustains itself via donations. These donations come from several sources such as the Food Bank of the RGV or are collected in yellow bins scattered across the Brownsville and Edinburg campuses. The people working are either student assistants or volunteers. 

According to Eric Martinez, a student assistant for the Food Pantry, there is a “tremendous increase for food” because of people’s binge shopping for groceries. 

“We have also noticed an increased dependency from students for items here at the pantry,” Martinez said in an email. Martinez added the Food Pantry isn’t experiencing a shortage of food since the pantry receives monthly assistance from the Food Bank of the RGV. 

“We’re always trying our best to remain stocked, but because of the virus, we weren’t prepared for new and recurring applicants that have been stopping by,” Martinez said. 

To sign up for the Food Pantry, visit its webpage. For more information, email foodpantry@utrgv.edu or call 665-3663 or 882-7126.

In addition to UTRGV’s efforts to stay on top of COVID-19, the university president sent an email stating the University of Texas System directed all schools to postpone Spring Commencement ceremonies. The University Marketing and Communication Department sent an email on Feb. 27, stating that ceremonies were scheduled at 8 a.m., noon, and 4 p.m. on May 8 at the Bert Ogden Arena on 4900, I-69C, Edinburg, Texas, and 8 a.m., 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. the following day in the Jacob Browns Auditorium on 600 International Blvd., Brownsville, Texas. 

According to UTRGV’s frequently asked questions page on COVID-19, the university is working to reschedule Spring 2020 Commencement and the postponement will not affect a student’s ability to graduate. However, students are not satisfied with this decision.

Irene Martinez, a criminal justice senior, is one of these students. She’s a first-generation student-mom. She started her undergraduate degree in Fall 2016. During Martinez’s pregnancy, she thought she wasn’t going to succeed at the university. She did not take time off from her studies, only missing three days because of the birth of her daughter.

She received help from family, who were also looking forward to commencement.

“My mother had to request time off from her work. She’s a nurse at Valley Baptist, [and] their schedules are hectic especially now,” Martinez added. “So did my significant other, he works out of state. Now I’m unsure if he would be able to get another date off.”

Another student with similar feelings is Shyla Pena, a mass communication senior. In 2016, Pena graduated from Zama American Middle-High School in Sagamihara, Japan, alongside 60 students. Pena transferred from El Paso, studying Chemistry there from Jan. 28 to June 19, 2019, and missed her associate degree graduation.

Pena received her diplomas in the mail twice and was looking forward to receiving her bachelor’s diploma at the ceremony.

     “I thought I’d have my bachelors to celebrate, even with all my family stationed in an army base in South Korea,” Pena said. “I wanted some sort of ceremony to commemorate all my work so far.”

Analyssa Gonzalez, a social work senior, isn’t happy with the decision too. Gonzalez has been in higher education for five years, four of those years spent at UTRGV. She lived on campus and was active in the campus community. Gonzalez was looking forward to the commencement as she wanted her family to be together. She’s the second oldest out of 8 siblings, being the first one to graduate.

“My parents are divorced, and I am blessed to have one grandparent from each side alive,” Gonzalez said. “My graduation ceremony is something they could all attend and celebrate together. It’s one of the few opportunities in my life that I can share with both [sides] of my family at the same time… It is a huge deal for my family as my mother and I [paved] the way for my siblings to continue pursuing higher education.”

Gonzalez added that she understands the issue and sympathizes with her fellow students affected by this action.

Despite some student’s disapproval with the UT-System’s decision, other students such as Gabriel Galvan, a world and borderland politics graduate student, understands the system’s actions.

“We should be taking the recommendations from the CDC seriously,” Galvan said. “Ultimately, what matters most is human lives. The university is responsible when they are the [ones] hosting the event. If people got sick during graduation, it would be terrible. They are doing what’s right for themselves and the student body.”

Additionally, COVID-19 has affected how universities provide student’s education. UTRGV, alongside other institutions, have since moved their classes to a digital platform.

Professors and lecturers at UTRGV spent the extended Spring Break adjusting to the change. They sent out surveys to their courses to evaluate how to best teach.

Lecturer for Art, Julian Rodriguez teaches courses that are more hands-on such as advance sculpture, intermediate sculpture, ceramics I, sculpture II, and design II. He’s never taught a studio class online because “there has never been a need,” he wrote in an email.

 “The biggest issue we face is eliminating that aspect and the ability to work with students on a one-to-one face-to-face basis,” the art educator added. “In studio courses, we often face as many issues with particular projects as we have students …with different [approaches] to assignments. To that, you add the loss of studio space, materials, and equipment that is not available to students in their homes.”

The lecturer mentioned one advantage of transitioning to online courses is being able to continue the semester with “everybody’s best interest and safety in mind.”

“We started with an academic continuity plan,” Rodriguez explained. “After that, it has come down to research and brainstorming so that we may offer the students the best possible outcome.”

Rodriguez added that he’s preparing to teach online for as long as necessary.

“The university, also, continues to make available training for online platforms,” Rodriguez said. “Aside from that, our greatest resource is our creative problem-solving abilities and drive to come out of this situation positively.”

COVID-19’s Impact on businesses of the Rio Grande Valley

Thousands of communities worldwide are responding to the COVID-19 crisis as it continues to take a massive toll on society. Each community, although unique in culture, has one common struggle during the pandemic: economic impact. 

Due to precautionary measures, which includes social distancing to minimize the risk of contact and outbreak, businesses nationwide are closing temporarily, and working-class individuals are facing unemployment. This burden has created a shift of uncertainty on how people will pay for their bills, and provide for themselves and their loved ones. This crisis is no small feat.

The Rio Grande Valley is a growing community of four counties — Hidalgo, Cameron, Starr, and Willacy. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the RGV’s current population is nearly 1.4 million people. Aside from its population growth, the community is flourishing every year when it comes to infrastructure and local businesses. Due to COVID-19, regulations from county judges call for mitigating the public health crisis by issuing curfews and a shelter-in-place order. Exceptions to this order include essential travel such as going to the grocery store, the pharmacy, the doctors, or the hospital. Because of this, local businesses and their owners must adapt to the pandemic while facing the challenge of keeping their business alive during the chaos.

Amber Silverman, a manager at El Hueso De Fraile, a family-run live music venue on 837 E. Elizabeth St. in Brownville, fears that the pandemic will affect the local business community in more ways than one. 

“I think local businesses are the ones that will suffer this pandemic the worst. We depend on daily income to pay our rent, our light bill, our mortgages,” Silverman said.

As COVID-19 continues to spread, the unemployment rates increase. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, “the increase in initial claims are due to the impacts of the COVID-19 virus.” This spike of unexpected unemployment threatens the livelihood of 3.3 million Americans – and is expected to grow. 

El Hueso ensures that even during this troubled time for local businesses, they continue serving their customers with their curbside service while taking health precautions. 

“We clean and disinfect every day. We make everything with gloves and deliver with gloves and a mask,” Silverman said.

 The café makes sure to only allow payments in forms of card or through a mobile device. This assures as little to no contact as possible. Although the business offers a curbside service, they are experiencing few orders and, consequently, a scarce income.

“I think the best way to support local business would be to order food and drinks from local businesses instead of fast food chains,” Silverman said. “Go to a local flower shop, a local bakery, a local pet store. These places depend on your business to survive and be able to reopen once this pandemic is over.”

April Marie Grigsby, the owner of Girl Gang Nail Studio, a nail salon on 801 N. 10th St. in Unit 809 in McAllen, fears that the impacts of COVID-19 are stressful and devastating not only to her business, but also fellow Valley business owners.

“I’ve seen all types of local small businesses from boutiques, hair and nail salons, all the way to CBD dispensaries all being extremely effected by this virus,” Grigsby said.

In comparison, small businesses do not receive the same limelight that large businesses do. During the crisis, some large businesses can provide their employees with paid leave whereas small businesses rely on constant and steady traffic from customers. 

“We are constantly making direct contact and interaction with all sorts of people from all parts of the Valley,” Grigsby said.

Girl Gang Nail Studio nail technicians were advised to take all the preventive measures necessary to protect themselves and their clients from potentially contracting COVID-19, which always included using face masks and gloves. Extreme and constant disinfection of workstations became the norm in the salon. The nail technicians and each of their clients were told to wash their hands during and after their service.

              As of now, Girl Gang Nail Studio’s doors are temporarily closed due to the regulations Hidalgo County has put in place.
           “Some ways people from across the valley could help out businesses like my own would to be purchasing gift certificates for themselves or their friends and family members and saving them for when doors open [for business]. The quickest way to resume back to our regular lives is to practice social distancing as our county is enforcing right now,” said Grigsby.

Local businesses need their community members more than ever during this crisis. There are a few ways to support local businesses, and in some cases, one can even support without having to leave their home. 

If the local business happens to be a food-related establishment, restaurants and bars are transitioning to curbside and drive-thru services. Services such as these allow customers to give support even while keeping the appropriate social distance. If the business happens to be a salon, social distance is a hard and nearly impossible strategy to practice. During temporary closing, booking appointments in advance allows business owners to keep a virtual tally of their future appointments. 

In other instances, a local business is likely to have their own merchandise in stock. From t-shirts to bumper stickers, this approach of support serves as a marketing platform to help promote and financially support a business during the economic alteration. Another option to opt for is to buy gift cards for future use or even as a surprise for a loved one. Some businesses will offer online gift cards, making this easy to do from home. Additionally, supporting a business through social media by giving a local business shout out and sharing info about the business can boost its page activity, further inviting new customers and continuously repeating the cycle. 

Alternatively, if none of these options are available, this opens the opportunity for a given a chance to connect with the community and directly ask a business if there is any way to help in the time of need.

To stay informed on the COVID-19 visit WHO’s coronavirus webpage or view Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity’s Google document with information about COVID-19, preventative measures to not contract the virus, and resources available in the Rio Grande Valley.