Don’t show your ignorance; just turn off TV
I found the recent letter from Bill Voda re the coronavirus coverage to be startlingly arrogant, ignorant and self-centered.
To him it doesn’t matter that coronavirus has killed over 700 people and more than 20,000 confirmed cases in Illinois alone. That’s one-and-a-half Warrenvilles of infected coronavirus patients.
If he thinks the coverage is overhyped, then he’s free to turn the TV off, change the channel and skip reading any coronavirus-related articles. Personally I prefer to know what’s going on before parks here are used as mass graves, which is what they’re doing in New York’s Central Park.
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Litzi Hartley, Naperville
Don’t waste food, especially during pandemic
The easiest way for the people of Naperville to fight world hunger is to reduce their food waste.
Annually, the world wastes about one-third of food available for consumption, and this was before COVID-19. Had this food not been wasted, there would be more than enough food to feed every single person on Earth. Among the main reasons food goes to waste is because people are buying more food than necessary and don’t store it correctly. Currently, there are many panicked people who are impulse-buying more food than is needed and this food is going bad.
Along with that, more crops are going unharvested due to the U.S. immigration policy restricting visas. With the COVID-19 situation, laborers that do get accepted for visas are at an increased risk of falling ill and being unable to work. Laborers are more vulnerable to the coronavirus because of their crowded living conditions.
Food waste is already a serious issue and the severity of it increases as the pandemic continues. As people of Naperville, we can reduce our food waste by buying less and storing it properly. Freezing food, especially meat and produce, is a great way of preserving it.
Along with that we need to stop buying unnecessary amounts of food. Not all foods can be preserved and buying more than you can eat will take more food away from those who are going hungry.
Elissa Eaton, Naperville
Kudos to county clerk/staff on well-run election
The votes cast on and before the March 17 Illinois primary election day in DuPage County have been successfully certified thanks to the work of our excellent County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek and her dedicated staff. Bravo!
This election was competently executed in the midst of several administrative and technical challenges and more stress imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hats off and a heartfelt thank you to those conscientious authorities and to the voters who accomplished this.
Now it is necessary to proceed with alacrity to the careful planning and preparations for the next complicated election challenge in November.
Stephanie Downs Hughes, Naperville
Being home brings new perspective to daily life
When it was announced we would school would be closing and we were to start e-learning, I honestly thought it would be awesome. However, I hadn’t really thought in depth about the seriousness of the situation or how it would affect our community, our county, our state or even my nation.
On the first day of e-learning, I was having the time of my life. I was having so much fun eating while I worked and taking breaks whenever I wanted, I thought it was the best thing a school could do. By the time we go to spring break a couple of weeks later, I had started to feel like I was under house arrest.
I am really bored now as basically everything is closed. E-learning is still going great, but now all schools in District 203 are closed until the end of the school year and Illinois plans to continue social distancing.
But I have also realized much more how conserving can be vital. I also understand that so many people are in very difficult situations. I used to take the resources we had in our house for granted as I knew I could always take a trip to the grocery store or just order them online. Now I truly understand why we shouldn’t be wasteful.
One way my mom performed this was by deciding whether to make a fresh meal or not. She encouraged all of us to make sure that we are using every last drop of whatever it is that we are eating. At first, I thought she was overreacting. But then, when we went to order groceries from Instacart, I saw the delivery day was a lot later than usual and with limited availability.
With that, I thought about all the people that might be losing their jobs as a result of this virus. I felt a surge of gratefulness for the fact that I have all of the important necessities, and I have luxuries within each of those necessary resources.
I adapted to this situation by utilizing everything we have in the periphery of our house. One of the most important ways to combat this sickness is by staying physically healthy so I’m trying to do that. I decided I was going to follow my school schedule at home so I would get the feel of being in school.
One of the hardest parts of this is I don’t get to see my friends everyday. To overcome that, I talk to them on the phone every once in a while. I’ve enjoyed doing many different outdoor activities when the weather was nice. One day I finished all of my homework at around noon and I was chilling out in our backyard for the entire day. Additionally, I get to be with my family a lot more.
I know that everybody must be eager to get back our freedom and resume our life, but it is best to stick to the rules. I am sure that when this all ends, we will gain two new things: a great new perspective about the way we look at the world and a story to tell the future generations!
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Mihika Gokhale, Naperville
6th grade, Kennedy Junior High
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