Total Eclipse of the Heartland
Selfies and snacks made the time fly while waiting for the total eclipse. PC: Kayla Potts
Monday August 21 kicked off the beginning of a new school year with the great eclipse that casts its shadow from coast to coast for the first time since 1918. Lincoln was in the path of totality for the much anticipated event.
The path of totality stretched from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. Observers in nearby regions who were not in the path of totality were at least able to observe a partial eclipse.
Since total eclipses don’t happen often, and the last one was over 40 years ago, Union decided to rearrange the schedule for the first day of classes to have lunch and a viewing party. offering free eclipse viewing glasses courtesy of the Lincoln SDA Credit Union, food and snacks from Union Market and the Math and Science Club, and music too.
Students and faculty were nothing short of amazed.
“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be able to see an eclipse, let alone a total one, so the fact that the entire school is able to come together and start off the year this way is so amazing,” comments sophomore International Relations major Daniel Delgado.
The event drew a fairly large crowd from spectators from near and far. “When I found out that the totality was going to be in Lincoln I bought a plane ticket and flew out from California the next day,” comments Robert Herkman, who is a friend of the student financial director, Taryn Rouse. “My friends and I have been planning for this for more than 20 years and we couldn’t miss the opportunity.”
If you were one of the lucky ones to view the total eclipse or even a partial one, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity that was able to draw people together from near and far.
Caroline Guchu is a junior studying communication