Feature Story
Life on Campus in a “Post”-Covid World
Written by Julius Johnson
Since the end of the 2020-2021 academic year, Seattle University’s administration has worked hard to plan for and around the global Covid-19 pandemic. In an effort to appear and feel as normal as possible—like other universities across the nation—Seattle U hosts full capacity and in-person operations despite the threat of Covid.
As students make their way towards midterm, many of them recall and reflect on where they were this time last year. With a sense of normalcy in the air, the realities of living within a pandemic are easily forgotten; besides campus mask mandates, students go to class in person, live in full capacity dorms, and eat their meals in a crowded student center.
Junior and visual arts and art history major Chloe Rawlins was one of less than a hundred students living on campus during Spring Quarter 2020
Rawlins said, “Coming back after the COVID break for my sophomore year, was such a shock, because I could really only hang out with a couple of people and a bunch of people that I knew, didn't come back. I was kind of like, [just in my] online classes in my Murphy dorm, seeing the same people a lot.”
This school year, things feel different for Chloe, “It does feel normal. It's definitely less social, and it is harder to just talk to people because of masks and stuff. But ultimately, through work, and even my classes, I can meet people. It is it definitely is harder, but ultimately, like, especially compared to last year, it’s normal.”
This academic year, Covid-19 has set a precedent for SU and other colleges across the nation; many first-year students attended their 2020-2021 classes online, making this year their first time living and attending classes on campus.
Sophomore and environmental studies major Julieta Dentone is one of these students. She said, “I like being on campus because I actually get to meet a bunch of my classmates in person. So that's really fun. And I get to interact with people more. I find it really hard to make friends here, which I thought was going to be easier. But that's okay. I'm just getting used to it.”
The transition back to in-person classes has been different for everyone. Commuter students live most of their lives off-campus—outside SU’s bubble—changing their “post”-covid experience. Online classes offered commuter students time they would’ve used commuting for time spent doing something else. Junior and kinesiology major Raymond Pham commutes 20-30 minutes a day and “45-60 on a bad day” from Renton to SU.
Pham said, “Commuting here now it's a little harder to go to classes, sometimes [because] we have to wake up earlier to get here. And then when we're here we have to, you know, be Covid safe. And it's a bit more stressful because we're more in the world than most students living on campus. We don't know whose going to be around, whose not safe to be around, so it's more of a gamble.”
According to SU’s Covid Vaccine Dashboard, most students to be Covid-conscious; more than 95% of students are fully vaccinated, and when faced with random, weekly testing less than 1% of students test positive for Covid-19. On paper, SU’s Covid strategy is a success, but some students think more can be done to combat Covid on campus.
Junior and nursing major John Danieli said, “As nurses, we're always going into hospitals, and we're always meeting large populations. I feel like maybe we should target those that have more exposure to more people. Like athletes are always going out of the county and state kind. You know, I feel like, at the very least, we should return to those routine testings for certain populations. Like nursing students, athletes, really just anybody who's always constantly going out. I would never know if I've ever tested positive because the school won't give me one [until I’m randomly selected].”
Covid-19 is an ongoing global health crisis, but in Seattle and at SU, people have gotten the opportunity to return to a mostly normal “post”-Covid life. Although some have struggled to make a completely smooth transition, students at SU seem to prefer the social and academic benefits of being back on campus rather than online.