By Abby Paras '24
Though many students returned to William & Mary’s campus for the fall semester, there was a sizable population of those who chose to stay at home and do their first semester of college remotely. Now, many freshmen are finding themselves starting out a semester later than some of their peers. While it may seem daunting to start in the spring semester, the students who are coming to campus for the first time are finding plenty of ways to enjoy their time at William & Mary.
Lauren LaFarree ‘24 was one of the students who chose to stay home for the fall semester. Her decision to stay home was influenced by “numbers and personal safety, and the safety of [her] family.” Many students stayed home for similar reasons since the number of COVID-19 cases was rapidly rising at the time. When it came to coming back for the spring semester, Lauren was hopeful, considering the low number of cases the College had last semester. She also says that “at home, it didn’t really feel like [she] was a college student”, since she was working while doing her classes. She felt like it was “a continuation of high school.”
Photo courtesy of Lauren LaFarree '24
LaFarree didn’t know what to expect when she came to campus. She knew that meeting people would be difficult, but her expectations were still high, especially for mask-wearing. She says that, for the most part, campus has lived up to her expectations in that regard, save for the people who “wear their masks under their noses, which is pretty concerning.”
As for her social life, LaFarree says the main way she met people was through an orientation given specifically to students who were new to campus this semester. She and her roommate are in the same situation, and she says that she has “a solid friend group of people from orientation.” She definitely believes that her academic and social life has improved since coming to campus.
Brianna Williams ‘22, is in a slightly different situation. Williams transferred from Christopher Newport University in the spring of 2020, but was sent home about five weeks later when the campus shut down. Instead of coming back to campus in the fall, Williams opted to stay at home, being one of the many remote students. She figured that “[her family members] were more important than having a social life.” Another reason she chose to stay home was that “all of [her] classes were online, so [she’d] be saving a lot of money.”
Photo Courtesy of Brianna Williams '22
Williams spent nine months in “very strict quarantine,” so coming back to campus was a big change for her. She said her quarantine “didn’t feel like nine months” because she was so busy with school. Despite this, she still felt disconnected from campus, like she “wasn’t a William & Mary student at all.”
As for the spring 2021 semester, she felt better about coming to campus because “one of [her] high-risk family members moved out” so there was less pressure to stay in quarantine. Additionally, she had three in-person classes, two of which she needed to graduate on time. She also felt that she “didn’t get to experience enough of William & Mary” in the short time she was on campus in the spring of 2020, so she wanted to get some more time at school rather than only be here for her senior year.
Though she feels like people have been good at following the COVID guidelines and staying cautious, she was worried when the COVID cases spiked at the very beginning of the semester. However, she does feel that she’s at the point where “the large majority of William & Mary students take it seriously,” and so she feels safe.
Contrary to what many newcomers to campus say, Williams does not feel that it is easier being on-campus as opposed to being remote. At home, she didn’t have to worry about exposure to COVID-19, whereas at school, she is “very much on edge, 24/7.” One of her worries is the way it could transmit through friend groups, even ones that are staying vigilant. While she understands that students have a specific ‘social bubble’ of people they are in frequent contact with, “everyone in your social bubble has a social bubble” of their own. She feels that she’s constantly worrying about getting COVID, and “no one really wants to live like that.”
Like many others, however, Williams is glad to be on campus and have a social life again. She feels that she’s “mellowed out” a bit since the COVID spike has settled, and she can start to enjoy more of her time on campus.
Hopefully the campus has been welcoming to all the students who are fresh from their remote semester, and the ‘new’ students have settled in well and are having a safe but fun spring semester.