Photo courtesy of Unsplash.
The class of 2024 was dealt a particularly difficult hand by the Covid-19 pandemic. The pinnacle of their high school experience, the spring semester of their senior year, was cancelled and their first year of college was far from typical. Ten members of the sophomore class were anonymously surveyed to learn about their academic experience in the midst of a pandemic. There were several common sentiments, but also different perspectives about how the semester is going and how Conn is operating.
All of the sophomores surveyed stated they were nervous, disappointed and overwhelmed entering their first year of college. They felt unprepared without a formal conclusion to high school. Most came to Conn with an open mind, but ultimately did not have the best year, “It was certainly rough to say the least. Adjusting to college life and the increased workload was a lot more difficult under the pandemic conditions,” said one student.
No one stated that they had enjoyed online classes and several expressed frustration over the fact that clubs had to meet over Zoom. The most challenging part of the first year experience was making friends. One sophomore said that it was “very difficult to meet new people, [and] people clung to whoever they knew as a safety net.” Classes that were in-person aided the students in forging friendships.
All students surveyed are having a better experience this year compared to last year. In-person classes and activities, eating in the dining hall and not having to wear masks outside are largely to credit. Aside from the Covid-19 outbreak earlier this semester which pushed the college into a cautionary quarantine, the students surveyed are pleased with less restrictions and, for the most part, have been able to make new friends. A few expressed that making friends and meeting new people is still difficult, saying, “it is still hard to meet new people.”
A “normal college experience” is a phrase that has been used a lot over the course of the pandemic, for lack thereof and the hope for. The answers to the question, “Do you feel like you are as close as you can to having a normal college experience this year?” were a mixed bag. Three students answered a flat out no, three said yes and the rest had more depth to their answers. One student said, “yes, but it is hard sometimes to see hometown friends at other institutions having a completely normal experience.” Another student said a return to normal will come when we ditch the masks, and another did not know how to answer because, “I still have no experience in college under normal conditions. It does definitely feel closer [to normal].”
The sophomores surveyed shared different perspectives of the pandemic. A student responded, “I don’t like how people act like the pandemic is over and that people aren’t still dying” and another similarly said, “I don’t like how some people have been acting like we’re not still in the middle of a pandemic. The student response to the shutdown…was disappointing.” Other students surveyed stated that Covid-19 is not going away anytime soon, and they are worried about the snitching culture from last year that has carried over into the fall as they try to return to normalcy in a 99% vaccinated community, “I am very afraid of disciplinary action should I find myself in a position that does not align with the college’s Covid-19 protocols.” Another student expressed, “I feel like there is a snitching culture that is rolling over from last year; in some way, I am more afraid of the disciplinary action than getting Covid-19 itself.” There was also discontentment for some of the protocols, such as capacity limits, “I am not a big fan of the rule on the amount of people who are allowed to be in other dorms and apartments.”
The class of 2024 appears to be adjusting well, “I really like it, it feels like I’m really in college and not just getting bits and parts of it.” Thanks to a return to a certain degree of normalcy, sophomores have been able to experience the Conn community, “I like feeling the college community around me in a way that I didn’t experience last year.” Hopefully, the sophomore class will soon be able to enjoy the Conn community and college experience in full.
