College Life Amidst the Pandemic

The Covid-19 epidemic has been nothing but merciless since hitting the United States on January 15, 2020. The epidemic has affected upwards of 1.3 million people since reaching the United States.

The Covid-19 virus feeds off of people who are in contact with a person who is infected; the virus spreads through saliva or any discharge from a person’s nose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with this being said those that are in a large group of people are more likely to receive it than someone who is in quarantine.

Due to the recent change in everyone’s everyday lives, one of the larger groups being affected by this roller coaster of changes is the students, more specifically the college students. In a month’s time, students have received cryptic messages from university officials unsure of what the future will bring in regards to school, moved out of what they considered their homes for the semester and had to learn how to continue school life behind a camera.

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign student Scott Riedel went on his planned vacation to San Francisco, California on March 13 amid the crisis.

“My family and I thought the panic was overhyped; we were there for three days and tried to counter the virus by washing our hands frequently,” Riedel said.

Since the panic has spiked alongside the number of total victims, Riedel has since started his quarantine in an effort to stay safe.

“I like to do stuff at home like play Xbox so it doesn’t feel so weird, however I do find it strange taking all classes online and using zoom and not being able to go out,” Riedel said.

Others have been quarantined since the moment they got home from school for the semester like University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign student Aidan Pletcher.

“So far my quarantine has been a mixed bag. The transition to online classes has been smoother than expected, but I’m obviously not happy about the situation and it’s a stressful time. Not being able to see friends and many people I care about has obviously been very upsetting,” Pletcher said.

Although life outside of everyone’s front doors has changed, everyone self quarantining has been trying to keep themselves busy due to the influx of free time.

“I spend some time doing homework, attending online lectures, and studying. I have more free time now due to the workload being lightened for many classes, and since I can’t see people, I spend most of my time texting, watching TV, listening to music, and facetiming,” Pletcher said.