Creating a Community During COVID-19

Since Barnard, in conjunction with Columbia, decided to turn to virtual instruction for the semester, students have been left to pursue their academic endeavors dispersed around the globe, and our devices have become our main access point to our once tangible college community. Though this virtual platform allows for the academic aspect of college life to remain intact (though it would be untruthful to say to the same extent as in-person instruction), what about the social aspects of college life? The extracurriculars,  all-nighter library sessions with friends, and dorm room movie nights? And what about getting to enjoy a Hudson River boat ride and collect plankton and water quality samples for your Environmental science class, bonding with classmates, and forming study groups in the process? Does college during COVID-19 mean obliterating a Koronet jumbo slice chunk from the college experience: connecting with our peers? 

With a few months of virtual socialization under my belt, I have come to realize socializing in the midst of a global pandemic is far from obliterated. It is planned, intentional, eagerly sought after, and, consequently, rarely taken for granted. To answer my question, in truth, our pizza pie of a college experience is still intact, but the social aspect section has been swapped out for a new seasonal flavor. Sure, this new flavor is certainly not everyone’s favorite (think pineapple on pizza level of controversy), and I prefer in-person interaction myself, but the social sphere of college has by no means disappeared. Even in a virtual format, the human desire for community prevails.

Now that I find myself taking online classes from my hometown of San Diego, CA, creating a virtual community has been an integral part of maintaining a sense of normalcy during daily virtual college life and a way of fostering a support system during an unarguably tumultuous time in human history. Here are some of the weekly activities I partake in to keep the social aspect of college alive, while 2,780 miles away from NYC. Though in-person interactions on campus have come to a halt for the time being, luckily, extracurriculars have adapted to the online platform. Chowdah Sketch Comedy, a sketch comedy group I am a part of on-campus, meets every week on Zoom and has been holding a four-week comedy writing workshop for the last month for any and all undergraduate students who love comedy, laughing, and want to delve into the ironically serious profession of being funny. Being a part of Chowdah Sketch Comedy allows me to be inspired by the talent of my peers, make friends with hilarious people, and delve into a form of storytelling that naturally makes me feel lighter. Having one hour each week dedicated to improv games, pitching sketches, and making one another laughter, has made all the difference in still feeling connected to my college peers. After all, they say laughing makes you live longer, so it doesn’t hurt when it is added to your schedule. Another important new addition to my schedule has been catching up with my close group of friends. We have a weekly Google Hangout set on our calendars and dedicate an hour every Friday to one another. This precious hour is spent catching up, ranting, craft making, or obsessing over anything BTS does. And though there are weeks we have had to skip our meeting due to the occasional schedule conflict, we still make sure to be there for one another by sending each other memes, updates, our newest baking endeavors, and engaging in therapeutic rants in our group chat. Equally important, however, has been making sure there are hours of the day that I turn off all screens, recover from Zoom fatigue, and spend time with my mom, my sister, and our beloved pup. Still, making time to be online purely for socialization and friendship within the Barnard/Columbia community has helped satisfy my ravenous appetite for a jumbo-sized slice of a college social life.