The first year of college can be tough; the pandemic makes it tougher

A glimpse of the reality of freshman year during COVID-19  

Yana Kouretas / Contributor

It’s no secret that college first years grapple with emotions of homesickness, and disorientation. It is easy for them to feel disconnected from the school or those around them when they first move onto campus. Yet as the coronavirus pandemic has prevailed into another semester, these emotions and feelings continue to stay heightened for many. In fact, 1,142 first years at USD were enrolled in fall 2019, and only 997 were enrolled in 2020 — a significant 12.7% decrease, which indicates how COVID-19 has affected students’ perspectives and decisions about how to proceed with their education. While under normal circumstances, first years might be spotted sitting in front of La Paloma with new friends or lounging on the quad lawn and soaking up the sun, these activities are now a less familiar sight.

Some first years have found comfort and a sense of belonging by joining clubs or organizations on campus; others have felt as though they are being kept in the dark. Consequently, each student’s experience in this virtual setting has manifested differently depending on how the pandemic impaired their social and academic lives, or if it hasn’t at all. 

In this pandemic, where one’s life is set in a predominantly virtual world, the act of making friends and building relationships carries more weight than it has in the past. Not only can it be more difficult to find a sense of connection from behind a screen, but it can also be hard to reach out to people because meeting with others is hard to do at the moment. As the number of COVID-19 cases at USD climbed and preventative measures surged on campus, students turned to different outlets to keep from being entirely isolated from other students and the campus itself.

Hiromi Gonzalez, a USD first year, resonated with feelings of disconnection and disorientation, and explained why she feels like just another lost first year on campus. 

“It is different being on campus because I am constantly just in my room, and don’t really know what else to do here right now,” Gonzalez said. “I also have felt super disconnected because I haven’t wanted to look into clubs or anything like that yet because I don’t want to add yet another set of Zoom calls to my plate.” 

On the other hand, some students turned to on-campus organizations to maintain their sanity in this most isolating time. USD first year, Summer Leija, relied on the mundane, yet necessary daily viewing of her peers over Zoom to connect with new people. 

“I’m involved with the University Ministry, which is something I’m really passionate about, and I have met more people through the retreat they held. I’m also in the Pachamama Alliance club which I had never heard about before,” Leija said. “We have done really fun things to promote sustainability like beach cleanups and hikes, which has really gotten me off of campus and pushed me to get out to different parts of San Diego.”

Although some first years like Leija were on campus last semester and may have found their footing in friend groups or best spots on campus, everyone continues to endure struggles in one way or another as the pandemic persists. 

“It feels crazy to think about that fact that this is the time when I should be getting out of my dorm and meeting people, but instead I am met with an array of Zoom profile boxes every day,” Leija said.

Despite the Zoom overload and lack of daily face-to-face connections that all students are experiencing, leaving campus has been another avenue to cope with coronavirus. Leija notes that there are many positives to being in San Diego, which remind her that all isn’t bad at the moment.

“I like to explore San Diego, specifically going to different thrift shops. In the middle of the day, I’ll just close my laptop and leave,” Leija said. “Everything is just so walkable in the city, and once you get to a good spot there are so many good stores to look at and scenic neighborhoods to just stroll through.”

Some students rely on limited face-to-face interaction to get them through their days and return to a sense of normalcy in their lives. USD first year, Hannah Fitz Cluster, explained how she makes the extra effort to meet people in a COVID-friendly way. 

“The first couple of days I went around and introduced myself to people living around me. I have been trying to do mostly outdoor activities,” Cluster said. “Recently, I went hammocking in the Vistas with a friend.” 

Owen Wiebe, a first year at USD, feels as though he has a home base: the USD Men’s soccer team. While the team  provides him with a sense of community, he still finds it difficult to make connections off the soccer field. 

“I’m lucky that I automatically have a group of people I have to fall back on that has made USD feel more like home. But it is definitely challenging to meet people in classes or over social media,” Wiebe said. “Sometimes I don’t want to reach out because I feel like a lot of the conversations become dead-ended because meeting people in person isn’t something that is happening frequently right now.” 

Nearly every student has their own method of approaching this uncharacteristic college experience. As first years find their way through these unpredictable times, one thing is for sure: there is no first year survival guide handbook for a pandemic. One can only hope that in the near future, surviving the first year of college in a global pandemic will be a distant memory to briefly look back on. However, for now, all one can do is take it day by day, or better yet, Zoom call by Zoom call.