Throughout my time with the Merciad, I’ve written a few opinion articles that have been somewhat critical of Mercyhurst. With that being said, I also believe it is important to give credit when it is due. I believe that this semester has been incredibly successful for Mercyhurst in more than one way.

One of the biggest changes has been the mask and COVID-19 policies. Mercyhurst has been criticized for its handling of COVID-19 in the past, but this semester policies were changed to return closer to a pre-COVID normal.I applaud Mercyhurst for taking a calculated chance on an issue that had its fair share of skeptics and proponents. Mercyhurst closely evaluated the science and statistics and changed their policy to reflect what they discovered. The removal of masks in almost all areas does not appear to be incredibly dangerous when people are vaccinated. I hope that the success of this policy continues, and we may be able to get even closer to normal. Several aspects of student life have also seen some interesting developments.

The release of the ride sharing program MUber has been a huge success. It is an extremely useful program released by MSG that pays for $5 of your first Uber ride of the day. From what I have heard around campus, the program has been very popular, and people seem to be enjoying what MSG has done for them. In a similar vein, people also seem to be quite happy with the SpringFest artist pick, Bryce Vine. Vine has a lot of very popular hits that it appears people are looking forward to hearing such as “Drew Barrymore” and “Sour Patch Kids.”

MSG has also put on many enjoyable events throughout the semester such as Hurst is Hometown and the College Night at Flying Squirrel. At the Hurst is Hometown event, students tried a wide variety of delicious foods from cities such as Pittsburgh and Buffalo. At the Flying Squirrel event, students went to a trampoline park for free on St. Patrick’s Day. As a senior in my last semester, it is nice to see a semester with such good news happening seemingly all the time. Everyone is beginning to enjoy the spring weather with great events. After two years of less-than-ideal circumstances, it certainly seems about time that people are able to enjoy their college experience a bit more. I only hope that this trend can continue throughout the semester and coming years.