As students return to college this month, there is anxiety in the air about Syracuse University’ COVID-19 restrictions being lifted. While some students can finally have the college experience that was put on hold for two years, we can’t ignore that there are still outbreaks, cases spreading and effects of the pandemic. We are not back to normal—we are recovering.

I entered college as a first-year student at SU in the fall of 2020, when the university’s COVID-19 restrictions were at their height. We weren’t allowed to visit our friends in their dorms, our classes were mostly held online and the majority of us had to go through at least one isolation period.

The pool of friends many students were able to connect with was limited to those on their floor or—for those who had to endure it—quarantine ‘pods’. Many of us had no clue what the bottom half of our friends’ faces looked like for weeks.

Now, after two years, students will be returning to campus without any restrictions, except for a mask mandate on public transportation, per New York state law. Though, it’s important to acknowledge the pandemic remains a fluid situation and cases still persist.

The pandemic gave new students an excuse to ease into social interaction while adjusting to the stress of college classes and newfound independence, so many returning students could be nervous about entering their first “normal” year.

The pandemic has led to increases in emotional distress, risk of mental health issues, anxiety levels in students and negatively affected sleep patterns, according to conversation.com. We need to prioritize our mental health more than ever so we can truly return to normalcy. SU students can participate in counseling, group support and other resources that SU has implemented for mental health awareness.

A new unrestricted social environment can feel overwhelming for anyone after two years of extreme restrictions. Everyone is processing the pandemic and its effects in their own way and SU students should keep in mind that we are still recovering.

Now, many of us feel the pressure to make the most of the time we have left. We’re joining every club, attending every event and going to every party that we weren’t able to under the restrictions, and we feel like a failure if we don’t make a million new friends while doing so.

I can’t lie, I do envy the incoming class that will have the opportunity to live the first-year experience that I dreamed of when committing to SU. Hopefully, unlike us sophomores, juniors, and seniors, these students will be able to experience a freshman year undisrupted by COVID-19 or any other outbreaks.

It’s important to remember that the COVID-19 pandemic has been shared by all students. We’re all excited and relieved to see what a semester unconstrained by pandemic restrictions looks like, but it is important to remember that we’re all a little nervous too.

Katherine Cefalo is a junior television, radio and film major. Her column appears bi-weekly. She can be reached at [email protected].

Published on August 29, 2022 at 12:11 am