Выпускникам ФАЯ 2020!

Dear Zoombies and Masketeers,
Oops, sorry Dear Graduates!

Under normal circumstances I would address you in the assembly hall. This year we need to keep our social distance, and what better way is there than the digital barrier? Still, as a lecturer in stylistics I cannot do without some SDs and if you are out of practice, you are welcome to pick them out.

The seriousness of the virus drove us all out of the university into the world of Gigabytes and teraflops. But even there we remained human. We linked in more ways than one, and clicked in more ways than one. You invented new excuses to miss classes – you blamed the poor Internet links and software incompatibility. At the same time I can say I have never heard so many students say they missed the university and wanted to be back in classrooms, not in front of their screens at home.

I only hope that come September, and provided we are allowed to resume classes as normal, students will not conveniently revert to their old ways.

However, no matter how tough the course was, you held on, and tagged along, and made it to the finishing line. It may be a coronavirus but it did not get in the way of your crowning achievement – your degree. So stay safe, be proud of your results and congratulations to you all.

Svetlana A. Andreeva