I spent a number of weeks this summer coaching distressed parents who were struggling with the decision of whether or not to send their kids to college as planned pre-pandemic. Given the reports of coronavirus outbreaks at colleges across the country, it’s safe to say those who decided Yes have had more than their share of fear and anxiety.
Every parent has a different story to tell. There is a subset who report feeling relief that their kids are at least having some sort of a college experience, albeit not ‘normal’. On the other end of the spectrum are parents frantically checking social media to ascertain if their children are practicing safe social distancing. And every parent worries about the call that tells us our kids are sick.
Across the country, campuses are dealing with coronavirus outbreaks in myriad ways. The majority of schools quarantine students who have tested positive in special dorms. In fact, I recommended college students leave home with a packed quarantine bag for that precise reason. In some situations, kids who contract COVID-19 decide (or are instructed by mom and dad!) to come home to quarantine and recuperate with parents near at hand.
Overall, the situation on campus is tentative at best. With colder weather ahead, more students will be forced inside. That, coupled with the risk of COVID fatigue and flu season, has led many to guess that campuses could see an uptick in cases.
But let’s look at the situation from the students’ perspective. Here’s a sampling of what five students from across the country are witnessing, thinking about and feeling about “college during COVID.”
Freshman, University of Iowa Tippie College of Business, Iowa City, IA
This freshman in Iowa says “many kids are acting like everything is normal” -- with the expected consequence that they’re contracting COVID-19. In fact, she’s noticed a number of empty dorm rooms lately, presumably students who are quarantining elsewhere.
To date, she’s kept her pod small and they are careful about social distancing, but other people are “out and about.” Like other students I’ve heard from, this young woman says she is academically thriving despite the fact that one of her two in-person classes has already gone remote for the time being because of COVID exposure.
Socially, the situation on campus is hard, she says. After all, unlike upperclassmen, freshmen simply don’t have previous friendships to rekindle in the new academic year. And “with all the coronavirus precautions come fewer opportunities to meet and connect with fellow students, not to mention tons more isolation and downtime.”
With colder weather on the horizon in Iowa, social distanced hangouts on the quad will force students inside -- which doesn’t bode well.
Freshman, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
This freshman notes that within the dorms, most students are operating as they should be. Masks are required and are being worn. In the bathrooms, students are assigned specific showers and changing stalls. From her perspective, since there is no monitoring of whether students are adhering, the strictures seems more about demonstrating effort on the part of the college versus true accountability.
She notes students are not supposed to go into other dorm buildings or other rooms. Not surprisingly, given the not-fully-developed pre-frontal cortex of 18-year-olds, she admits that she and some of her friends have been sneaking into other girls’ rooms. If they’re caught, they get “written up” by the RA. So far, she says, she was caught but hasn’t received an official citation so is “in the clear.”
As for when students get COVID, they either go into quarantine dorms or check into hotels. She also knows that some students with COVID are simply not reporting it and are isolating in their dorms.
Freshman, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA
“A little strange and a little exciting” is how this freshman describes his first few weeks at Brandeis. Naturally, he enjoys living a more independent lifestyle and the freedom of selecting which courses he wanted to take. What has surprised him is how much faster the coursework is versus high school, but he’s acclimating and enjoying the work.
Unlike at a large number of colleges, three of his four classes are actually in person, and he feels the university has done a great job of optimizing everything for the pandemic. While he appreciates that effort in terms of safety and students and professors are engaged, he admits “it does feel a bit alienating at times, like I’m in my own little bubble.” Oddly, the course that is online is music. Anyone who has been in a Zoom meeting is familiar with the platform’s lack of synchronicity, so it’s a bit of a disappointment for him - but the professor’s efforts and resources make up for it.
Newly diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes just a couple weeks before leaving home, he says “this is no doubt the strangest part” of college life. Forced to pay strict attention to when and how he eats, he’s not always able to go to the dining hall when everyone else does and sit at a table and start a conversation with someone -- which is how he was accustomed to meeting people in high school. Even coordinating meals with friends is hard at times.
What’s surprised him the most about college life is “how easily people adapted to the COVID regulations. “Walking around campus,” he says, it looks very similar to how life was at the beginning of the year” -- except, gratefully, everyone is wearing masks and following social distancing guidelines. For a variety of reasons, it took him a bit longer to get comfortable being outside and doing stuff, but once he made the leap, it felt good to do so again.
Junior, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
After a cross-country drive from Chicago, this USC junior spent two days settling into his off-campus studio apartment with his girlfriend. When they stopped by the USC Village to grab lunch the day before classes began, essentially everyone they saw was wearing a mask -- but there was hardly anyone around! As he put it, “It felt more like a random day of winter break than the start of the semester.” The tableau was so unlike the thousands of students and families who, pre-pandemic, would have been circulating the plaza.
During the first week of online classes, he found himself pleasantly surprised by how discussion-based his courses were -- even over Zoom. But by the end of week two -- with the addition of online socializing and six hours of “virtual” band practice -- Zoom fatigue was already setting in. As he so aptly describes it, “Something about spending hour after hour sitting and staring at your computer screen sucks the life out of you.” Another reminder that this is “no normal semester?” With USC football inactive, he won’t have the payoff of marching on the field playing his bass drum with the 300-member Trojan Marching Band in front of a sold-out coliseum!
USC is doing random COVID testing of students, and he’s had several tests so far. USC is offering free, unlimited testing for non-symptomatic individuals. Unfortunately, he reports, “cases have been spiking lately. During the week of August 30, the positive percentage rate jumped from 3.6% to 17.5%, with 137 students testing positive.” Interestingly, he notes a Los Angeles Times article that indicated what’s spreading the disease isn’t necessarily large gatherings, but the smaller day-to-day hangouts, with individuals spreading the virus from bubble to bubble. Apparently big parties aren’t the only sort of gathering to be mindful about.
If it weren’t for his internal motivation to get out and exercise, the welcoming warmth of southern California weather and the many outdoor activities available within a short drive of USC, it would be easy to spend all his time in his small studio. Fortunately, he and his girlfriend are going on hikes, biking and playing tennis, enjoying socially distanced meals with friends outside -- and even baking pastries for friends at the drumline house who are running a contactless café. Recent air quality concerns have forced them inside, as if the pandemic wasn’t enough to navigate.
The strange thing about this new normal is that the routine is pretty limited, he says. “All of our essential activities take place over zoom, so unless you go out of your way to do so, you would not have to leave the apartment at all.”
Senior, University of Georgia, Athens, GA (sibling of UGA freshman above)
Given the public health crisis, the presence or absence of college sports programs varies. According to this senior, Georgia’s student body is very committed to making sure football season continues -- and equally committed to keeping freshmen and sophomores on campus. Students are wearing masks and classes are mostly online. Courses with smaller numbers of students are doing a hybrid style, but she says that for her, multiple approaches make scheduling class times and other activities harder to track.
Early on there was a COVID-19 breakout on campus, she says, but it’s pretty controlled at this point. Georgia tracks coronavirus cases through a self-reporting digital platform called DAWG check. Students, faculty and staff with COVID are asked to be personally accountable and update their symptoms and test results daily. If students report erroneously on the site, they are sent to the Student Honor Board.
Strikingly, two of her 10 roommates have contracted COVID-19 it so far - and it’s barely the end of September. As a house, they made the decision to quarantine until everyone tested negative.
Personally, she says although she has had social plans and some people are going to the bars, there’s a lot more downtime than usual and she admits to feeling lonely at times.
From her vantage point, the University of Georgia “kinda turns a blind eye. I would say it’s the most laid back out of every school I’ve heard about right now, but it’s not the right way to be.”