(The following photos have been captured through the eyes of Henry Hobson)
As a pandemic sweeps the world, college students across the globe are being sent
home. With them, they take their community, leaving behind a skeleton of a campus. A
once sprawling Appian Way can now be seen empty, something that Keene State has
never seen before.
A site every first year knows too well, the great Keene State Arch. Will next semester provide incoming First Years with the same experience? Only time will tell.
A book is nothing but paper without a reader, a library with no students is simply a filing cabinet.
Ghosts of Keene State alumni are now returning to haunt its campus.
A student gives life to a building. But who’s riding a skateboard to class? When class is
online?
Without students the Young Student Center looks old and creepy. The heart of Keene’s
Campus has stopped beating.
Zorn Dining Commons, a place where people go to socialize and eat, is now locked down
like a military complex.
On any other day the court would be filled with basketball players and skateboarders.
Looking back down the length of campus, a cloud of uncertainty looms overhead.
On sunny days in April the quad can be seen filled with sunbathers, frisbee enthusiasts,
and students on their way to class. Now, the empty sidewalk outside Fiske only lead to
an empty Main Street.
The artery of Winchester Street is usually clogged with traffic, the clot of students has
finally disappeared allowing for nearly deserted streets.
This picture speaks for itself.
The Owl holds Keene State’s reputation in its talons, just because the Owls have
disappeared, doesn’t mean they aren’t ready to bring Keene State back with them.
