College Students Open Up About Quarantining and the COVID-19 Virus

When facing a pandemic like the one at hand, schools have been forced to navigate a situation unlike anything they’ve experienced before.

As a result of the COVID-19 virus, many students have been forced out of their dorms and back into their parents’ homes. Others have been stuck inside to quarantine in their college towns.

For some college students this led to drastic changes compared to their usual lifestyle. Students expressed that they’ve lost jobs, battled with motivation and transitioning to online classes, struggled with their parents and felt as though their lives have been put on hold.

Many felt that their colleges didn’t handle the pandemic well and expected more information and resources from their schools.

Five students from different schools talked about their experiences since quarantine started and how they’re adjusting to it.

“It sucks,” said Isabella Bence, a student at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College.

She shared that its been rather difficult being cooped up with her parents after not living with them for a period of time.

I recently turned 20 and had big plans for traveling and other things coming up that have all been cancelled or postponed due to the current epidemic. I am living with my parents in the home I grew up in and can’t spend time with friends or attend public places like gyms or parks. Not only do I feel like I’m 16 years old again, but it feels as if my life has been put on pause.

All of the students interviewed who returned home to quarantine in their parents’ homes shared similar experiences when trying to coexist with their families after months of freedom.

“My life has changed drastically,” said Claire Batten, a student at UW-Madison.

I missed out on my first year of college. I now have to come back home and live with my family. Although I’m lucky enough to have supportive parents they don’t understand privacy too well. So going from freedom to hovering was a hard adjustment.

For others still living in their college towns, quarantining hadn’t been all that bad.

“I’m still living in Eau Claire and although I find it harder to save money, I like the reality of living alone and getting my stuff done and then focusing on my hobbies,” said Hunter Vang, a student at UW-Eau Claire, originally from Green Bay.

Sarah Huffer, a student at University of Minnesota, shared that she’s also been able to stay in her college town at her on campus apartment and has been enjoying it besides the loneliness that comes with quarantining alone.

But not everyone shared the luxury of being able to stay where they were living before the COVID-19 virus. Many students who lived in on campus housing had mixed feelings towards how their colleges handled house and their plans moving forward.

“When it came to housing, they handled it terribly,” said Batten. “I’m a freshman so I can speak to this firsthand. We were told on a Thursday that we had to be gone by Sunday at 5 p.m. Many of the kids on my floor were out of state and it wasn’t easy to book a flight, so a lot of kids had problems with that.”

This would’ve made things very hard for people like Assante Pressley, a student at UW-Milwaukee, who’s from St. Louis, Missouri.

“I’ve actually been able to stay in campus housing considering I’m from so far away and leaving Milwaukee so suddenly would’ve been quite the hassle for me,” said Pressley.

Batten explained that UW-Madison students were also given a move out date once the school announced that they were closing down for the remainder of the semester. But, instead of providing security, this only caused more anxiety for Batten.

“I was given Tuesday of the first week of April,” said Batten. “The Monday before at 4 p.m. I received an email that said if I didn’t come and get my stuff by 9 p.m., they didn’t know when I could pick it up again.”

UW-Madison announced on their website that if students were unable to claim their belongings before their assigned date that their belonging would be packed up and moved to a “clean, secure and safe area within the residence halls.”

In Eau Claire, where there have been less confirmed cases and zero deaths, they offered a more flexible plan for students.

“Since we have multiple options on campus for upperclassmen and exchange students, UW- Eau Claire consolidated the remaining apartments and dorms into one main building where the school can drop meals off and keep the remaining group of students isolated,” said Vang.

The University of Minnesota handled housing similarly but chose not to consolidate their students into one building.

“Students were asked to return home if they had a safe place to go, otherwise they were asked to fill out a housing survey indicating they would need to stay on campus,” said Huffer. “They talked about consolidating housing but instead let people stay where they were at.”

Since campuses have shut down, some students adjusted to online classes better than other.

“I personally hate online classes,” said Vang. “I prefer asking questions and interacting in class, where now I struggle to get my questions answered when I need them.”

Many students expressed similar concerns and complaints regarding the switch. Lack of motivation seemed to be a common theme among students.

“The only thing I can say that’s changed is my level of motivation when it comes to completing schoolwork,” said Pressley. “I’m pretty inclined to lounge around and watch movies most days since everyday feels like the weekend.”

Many students recognized that switching to online courses was a necessary decision that had to be made by universities but its less than ideal.

“The online courses are okay,” said Bence. “I’ve found myself far less motivated to hold myself to high standards when it comes to completing assignments.”

Students expressed that although the flexibility of doing their assignments on their own time is a positive, it doesn’t outweigh the benefits of learning in person and being able to interact with other students and their professors.

“I do not feel like I’m getting the same quality of education,” said Huffer.

I pay to go to school at the campus I do because I want to be on campus in the building and at the libraries. I study best when I am on campus and I have not been able to be as productive in my apartment. It’s much harder to focus and find motivation to get things done, especially without any structure to my day.

There was a lot of talk on whether students who live in the dorms would receive a refund on their meal plans, room and board.

“The majority of students staying in campus housing were required to move out of most of the residence halls in exchange for a partial refund of their room and board costs,” said Pressley.

But not everyone is satisfied with how their schools handled their refunds and are questioning the reliability of their schools calculations.

“They were supposed to give us a refund on housing and our meal plan,” said Batten. “I know for a fact that I had over $800 in my account and to live in the housing that I was living in was $1,000 a month. I only received $1,300 refunded to me.”

Money is a big concern during this uncertain time and like many others the COVID-19 virus has taken away future plans and job opportunities for many students.

“My internship was cancelled I no longer have a job and I can’t take the courses I was going to this summer,” said Batten.

As nonessential businesses started to close and summer internships get cancelled, students started to face sudden unemployment, including Pressley who worked at Urban Outfitters before it closed.

The Safer At Home Act was a major adjustment for most people who chose to follow it, but others seem to be going about their regular daily schedules.

“It is safer for everyone if people would just stay home and not interact with people, but it’s not realistic,” said Huffer.

The mention of what can be realistically expected of people made many question how long they could last if they followed the Safer At Home Act.

“The stay at home order is being followed as best as it can in my opinion,” said Vang. “We cannot stay in our house for weeks and do nothing.”

Students have mixed views regarding the Safer At Home Act, because while some are following the social distancing requirements others are actively going against them on social media.

“I’ve seen many people via social media or just outside getting together in groups and acting as if the stay at home act doesn’t apply to them,” said Bence. “The lack of empathy seen during this has been shocking and quite disheartening.”

For some students the act of quarantining and social distancing that came with the Safer At Home Act isn’t all bad.

“Mentally this is very refreshing to get away from normal life for awhile,” said Vang. “I think it has been a good time to reflect on how much we all miss school and all the privileges we have as a whole.”

As the Safer At Home Act gets extended students had mixed feelings on what this summer could look like.

“I really hope that we can have at least part of a summer, but I’m not holding my breath in all honest,” said Batten. “At this point I’ll give up my summer in order to go back to college in the fall.”

Others are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel as some states begin to open up again.

“Judging from what I’ve seen in the news many states have been preparing to slowly start opening up so hopefully we can get things back to being semi-normal within the coming months,” said Pressley.

But the proposal of states reopening in the near future is less hopefully and more alarming for others.

“I hope that things will reopen and summer could be semi-normal, however I’m fearful that not much will change from now to summer,” said Bence. “Especially with some states opening up so soon, I have a feeling if anything, things may get worse.”

Not all hope is lost though, some are still optimistic that once school is out summer will still feel like summer and life will begin to feel normal again.

“I hope this summer will be back to semi-normal,” said Vang. “If that’s the case, I think this summer will be the most fun since summer 2016. Everyone finally free and no one taking life and hanging out for granted anymore. Should be fun.”