Two students study outside

Coming back to campus has been strange. The U-M community is “logging in” from all across the world this semester. While some students chose to return to Ann Arbor this fall, many others decided to stay at home. The campus, typically bustling with life, has been oddly quiet.

 

A variety of students have provided their thoughts about our current campus climate. Study spaces have taken a new form this semester. With libraries and other classroom buildings open at reduced capacities, students are taking advantage of studying outside while we still have warm weather.

 

“I think it’s strange being on campus, it definitely feels different and it’s a little off-putting at times,” says Emma, a sophomore studying with her friend Grace in the law quad. Having come back to U-M with knowledge of what it was like before thepandemic, both students agree that the “new normal” is anything but normal. 

 

Two students study in a hammockWhile upperclassmen are adapting to changes in the college life they have been living, and freshmen are experiencing college for the first time in these unusual conditions. Jake, a freshman studying in the Diag, says “it is definitely a good experience just to be here.” He feels “relatively safe” on campus and sees “a majority of people” wearing masks. His friend, Max shares a similar sentiment of feeling “very COVID-secure.”

 

“I think for the most part people really care about each other and keeping each other safe,” says Grace. She adds that students seem to have adopted a “collective mindset of making the most of it.”