Chaos pilots - How the first "corona class" survived the academic year
CHAOS PILOTS - How the first “corona class” survived the academic year
The academic year is almost over, and it has been quite eventful! Together, we have been learning through trial and error how to survive, and possibly thrive, during this massive isolation experiment. Now it is time to make sense of the essence of being a student during covid, and what better way to do this than by asking our first corona class? We brewed some tea and sat down with four first-year students. Here is how their year at the university looked like.
Journalist: Elina Turbiná
Fotograf: Nathalie Genevieve Bjørneby
Marianne is an Ås native. She chose to study at NMBU because she was drawn to the perfect mix of natural science at the biotechnological bachelor program. Her first semester was physical for the most part, so this semester she compensates for the lack of real-life class interaction by watching lectures with her course mate who lives down the hall. "I expected the first semester to be more restricted, and that more things would be happening in spring". Despite being a part of a social club, Marianne does not feel like she has gotten know many people. Instead of hanging out with other NMBU students, she spends her weekends with her old friends. She is, however, very close with her roommates at ABC, with whom she moved in to get away from her brother’s trombone practices. "I think we would not have gotten this close with the roommates if it wasn’t for the pandemic", she says. Marianne is excited for the next autumn, placing socialization as the main thing on her agenda; however, she is a bit scared to plan anything in advance. For now, she is trying to figure out "how to be a student" and not drown in schoolwork. Painfully relatable.
Landscape architecture student Live came to NMBU from quiet Karmøy without any expectations. Initially, entering the student life had put her in a "survival mode" by taking in as much social activity as possible at the expense of the other parts of her life. It paid off, as Live speaks very fondly of the friends she met along the way, cautiously calling herself happy despite the pandemic. With school, however, the situation is less exciting, as Zoom classrooms do not feel sufficient for learning much of the material. “I am not sure what expectations our professors have for us, as we cannot interact with them or our peers in the same way as last semester”. One of her lecturers referred to their class as "chaos pilots", which describes the first corona students very well. "Time doesn't feel linear anymore", she ponders, as it becomes harder to structure her studies and social life. But Live sounds optimistic, noting the importance of vulnerability and being grateful for the little things to have a better experience at university.
Rachel's story is a bit different from the rest of the girls. Before coming to Norway in September to do studies in international development and environment, she spent five years working and travelling. She acknowledges that applying for the program was a now-or-never moment for her: "If I hadn't come here last semester, I would never have gone to college". But Rachel does not regret going into academia. "For the first couple of months, I did not really know anyone. But after meeting a bunch of people at events for international students, I now have a great group of friends I spend most of my time with. I feel really lucky to have my friends and roommates, there's always something to do with them, whether it's a house party or a walk to the store". Going back to studies felt challenging at first, with Zoom classes being particularly unhelpful to Rachel, but since coming here it has become much easier. She feels on top of her academic and social life, which seems to be a rare but exciting occurrence!
Agathe also had some time off school before coming here to study energy and environmental physics. She describes her first couple of months here as "awesome", recalling picnics with the class, busy schedule during UKA and inviting atmosphere in real-life classes that helped to ease into the student life. But in spite of a great start of the semester, the struggles of structuring her workday at home instead of campus became more apparent as the restrictions started coming in. "I don't feel like I'm studying yet", she explains, as working from home makes her feel unable to really enjoy what she is learning. Socially, Agathe thinks there is room for improvement as well. She moved to the student housing shortly after the buddy week and enjoyed some socialization with her roommates, but ever since the January restrictions, social interactions have become a rare thing for Agathe as most of her roommates have not returned to Ås. Some of you might remember the Student Habits case from TT03, in which we mentioned a respondent with a knee operation. Turns out, it was Agathe's knee in question! She is glad to have gotten through the operation at the beginning of the year as "there was nothing going on anyway" and "seeing so many people in the hospital was exciting". Even though it is a very strange reaction, we can see where she is coming from.
The lack of physical teaching and loneliness are undeniably the main points of concern within the student community, proven by the fresh results of SHoT survey. We really hope that enjoying being at the hospital and losing linearity of time is not the new norm for students. Our corona class seems to be able to stay grateful and positive about the future, however, we cannot minimize the effects this year has had on the student community. We encourage you to speak up, share your concerns with your professors and mental health professionals. Good luck on the exams and here is to an open Autumn semester of 2021! Things will get better, just you wait.
