By Elizabeth Nguyen
Contributing writer
As the COVID-19 pandemic drags on, resident students welcome the new semester with cautious optimism despite a continuing sense of loneliness.
The pandemic brought major changes for students last year. Housing operated at reduced capacity, keeping students mainly in single-occupancy rooms.
Programs were limited to what could be held virtually over Zoom. Without many opportunities to interact face-to-face, life on campus could be especially isolating.
Senior Ashleigh Huerta recalls the change in campus social life as particularly sad.
“The dining hall was so empty,” she said, “I just thought, ‘Wow. I’m going to my classes right now and there’s no one getting breakfast.’ That should not be the college experience.”
Dominican’s high vaccination levels – 100 percent of on-campus students are vaccinated – has allowed the university to relax some previous restrictions, such as outdoor masking and social distancing. With a vaccination requirement, life in the resident halls has recovered a semblance of its “pre-pandemic” atmosphere.
Walking through the halls, the most notable change from last year is the increased number of residents.
Occupancy in the dorms has increased by around 100 students from the previous academic year, according to Student Life Coordinator Diamond Whaley.
The resumption of in-person programs and events has been a much welcome change for Huerta.
“I love seeing faces at events,” she said, “I finally understand what I’ve been missing for the past year.”
Despite the improvements, loneliness is still very much a problem for resident students at Dominican. This reflects national trends, a study from Harvard University found that older teens and young adults have been among the hardest hit by the isolation that the pandemic has brought.
Resident Zeinab Mohammad has experienced the dilemma of choosing between safety and social connection, particularly as a first-year student. Though vaccinated, she still feels anxious about socializing in-person after a year of isolation.
“I can’t even say it’s been weird because I’ve never had the college experience; my last two years of school were completely online,” she said. “Coming here, it’s just been really lonely.”
enguyen@my.dom.edu
