Xinxianglu Xie opted to stay in America when most international students who could travel home did so
due to the emerging health crisis. The China native then recorded her thoughts for posterity as part of Professor Michele Meek’s Multimedia and Storytelling class.
“I really wanted to make a micro-documentary to show the life of Chinese students in America during the crazy spreading of COVID-19,” said Xinxianglu.
The 21-year-old hails from Jilin in the country’s northeast. She’s visiting ɫƵ for a year as an exchange student and was scheduled to return home after the spring semester, expecting to graduate next year. She hopes her video will provide Americans with several takeaways.
“First, I hope viewers will feel some hope,” Xinxianglu said. Indeed, the title of her video, March Equinox, alludes to the lengthening of days during this time of year. The extra hours of daylight represent that hope and a sense of rebirth.
Xinxianglu’s video stresses the importance of self-protection through social distancing and the use of face masks, and it also demonstrates that a global pandemic demands a global response. “We need to fight this situation together for the future of the human race,” she said.