MARTINS FERRY — To help ease the pain of an in-person school year being cut short by the coronavirus, Martins Ferry’s alumni are giving students a way to celebrate what they love about their school.

On the Rider Nation Facebook page, students were given a challenge:

“Show us your Rider pride during this chaos. Display it however you want (on a chair, on your front porch, in the front door, on your couch, etc). Take a photo of your display and send it to us. … Let’s go Riders!” wrote Kathy Howell, a 1992 Martins Ferry graduate who manages the site.

To date, several students, mostly seniors who are graduating this school year, have posted their displays. Clad in purple and white, the displays include letterman jackets, jerseys and T-shirts with the Purple Rider logos and insignias.

Most include the student’s name and still-lifes that explain what they enjoyed and what was important to them during their academic career: sports, band, cheerleading, art, etc.

One of the displays by sophomore Maddie Fox, daughter of alum Aaron Fox and Lori Fox, includes a message: “One town, one school, one family.”

Howell said she got the idea for the challenge from a friend and fellow alum, Kim Collette-Waller.

“The kids are missing school and that rider community pride, especially with sports being out. It’s better to keep it going, so I challenged them to do this,” Howell said. “It’s something to do while they’re stuck at home.”

Students across the country are doing their best to learn from home, completing assignments from their teachers while stay-at-home orders remain in place during the pandemic. While some states have decided to cancel the remainder of the school year, others such as Ohio and West Virginia, are using a wait and see approach. Ohio has canceled in-person instruction until at least May 1.

However, many believe that school years across the country all eventually will be canceled because the peak of coronavirus cases is not expected to happen until mid-April or mid-May. Even then, the spread of the virus is not expected to just stop in its tracks. Scientists say cases will continue afterward into summer, and a possible second wave of cases will occur during the fall as well.

Howell said she is not planning additional challenges, but she is working on a slide show for the seniors. They can submit photos, including their senior photo, on the site’s messenger until April 13.