A visual diary of the emptiness that haunts APU in the wake of the campus-wide shutdown
There is something eerie, yet beautiful in seeing the campuses of Azusa Pacific so empty.
The places that used to bustle with noise and foot traffic now appear to be desolate even though finals week is just around the corner. With the students gone, it seems as if they took all meaning with them as well. There’s no one left to enjoy the abundance of nature which has closely followed in the footsteps of the approaching summer heat.
Student dwellings and parking lots look smaller than when they were filled to capacity. Campus Safety patrol cars slowly drive around East and West campus in the same way that students used to crawl around the parking lots, waiting impatiently for someone to free up a spot.
And just like that, everything that used to be electrified by the movement of time, nature and people stands still, similar to the way that life at the university has been halted by the spread of COVID-19.
Photo courtesy of Anna Savchenko
A Campus Safety patrol car cruises around the parking lot of East campus. The patrol officers make sure that people do not violate the social-distancing guidelines that the university has set out for the few students that remain on campus.
Photo courtesy of Anna Savchenko
The underground parking spaces of University Village, which students used to quarrel for parking spots in, now stand empty.
Photo courtesy of Anna Savchenko
The Cougar Soccer Complex on West campus has been closed to the public. All athletic facilities and most campus entrances have been fenced off with barriers and caution tapes in a similar manner.
Photo courtesy of Anna Savchenko
Students used to fill the study places in Hugh and Hazel Darling Library that overlook the reflective pool and West campus common area. But even with the final weeks of school approaching, the library remains desolate.
Photo courtesy of Anna Savchenko
The university’s transportation vehicles stand lined up on East Campus. Usually, they can be seen scattered around the university premises or in use by athletic teams and campus clubs.
Photo courtesy of Anna Savchenko
Scattered leaves fill University Village as the number of cars left in the residential area has significantly thinned out.
Photo courtesy of Anna Savchenko
The university’s trolleys, which usually transport students between East and West campus, now stand collecting dust behind the Cougar Athletic Stadium.
Photo courtesy of Anna Savchenko
The Munson and Bavougian Tennis Complex stands empty on West campus after a storm. The recent bad weather has left the university looking gloomy and disheveled. Yet, there is still hope that things will return to normal at some point in the near future.
Photo courtesy of Anna Savchenko
The Foothill Drive-In Theater sign by West campus has been updated by some student workers to pay tribute to those who are fighting on the frontlines of the coronavirus.