Elsewhere in Maastricht, people were asked to keep “one Beppie apart”, a nod to the diminutive local singer. That reference, however, would probably have been baffling to much of the non-local and international UM community.
If you look closely, you can still spot worn strips of tape or scuffed stickers around the university buildings, or posters about how to wash your hands properly that were never taken down – relics of a recent past that somehow feels longer than five years ago. The questions we asked back then – “Will remote learning become the new norm?”, “Is shaking hands a thing of the past?” – now sound almost absurd again. Images of deserted lecture halls and empty bike racks are slowly fading from memory. Words like “home exam” and “nationwide curfew” no longer appear in Observant articles. This roll of barrier tape is a tangible reminder that it wasn’t all just a fever dream. Another thing that has endured is hybrid working – partly from home, partly in the office.
Is it fair to call this Covid relic “junk”? Time will tell. Perhaps avian flu, or some as-yet-unknown virus, will have other ideas. Anyone who likes to be prepared is welcome to come and collect this roll of barrier tape.