Prompt 3
Gracie Geist
Sophomore
What is it like eating in your cafeteria during this time? Are there rules? if so, who enforces these rules?
Eating in the cafeteria this year is extremely different. Not only did Drake implement COVID precautions, but they also completely remodeled our only dining hall. At the beginning of the year, it was hard to tell if food options were limited because of COVID or if it was that way for good. The dining hall experience has been quite interesting compared to years past. I know my roommate and I have a difficult time getting to the dining hall with the new hours and rules, so we tend to eat off campus or order food quite often.
In regard to rules and hours, the dining hall obviously requires face masks unless you are eating at your table. They tried to implement a device to take temperatures, but that didn’t go as planned so they don’t use it anymore. The dining hall opens at the top of every hour, then closes 45 minutes later. The 15 minutes that it is closed is used for cleaning; a bell rings when students are required to exit the dining hall. Because of the remodel, we have lost the dining hall’s grab and go area that was utilized often by students. It has been hard to take food to go because they require you to put a deposit on a to-go container instead of using the old to-go boxes we used. There wasn’t a problem with our dining hall before, and I feel like it was more COVID safe than what it is now.
What is dorm life like now? Are you living alone? Do you like this?
I do not live alone; I have one roommate in my dorm room. The dorm experience is definitely a lot different than previous years. A lot of my current friendships developed because we lived on the same floor and I was able to walk down the hall and hang out. It is difficult to make friends in residence halls, and they definitely aren’t as social. One of my favorite things about living in the residence hall was being able to walk down the hall and knock on anyone’s door and say hello. Now I only know a few people on my floor and my roommate, so I’m not a huge fan. A lot of students were moved to off campus apartments so there are a lot of empty rooms as well. However, most students in my hall are good about wearing masks and keeping the hallways clean. Except the bathrooms. There is always hair in the shower, but I doubt that will never change.
Do you have any feelings of isolation or loneliness? How do you have fun? (add photos/video if possible)
I don’t have feelings of loneliness or isolation that often. I am very involved on campus: the rowing team, sorority, clubs, and two jobs. I get out quite often because I have friends that are in different activities and classes than me. It’s easy to ask my friends to study or go get dinner a few times a week. While I miss being able to wander around, mask-free, my roommate and some of my friends in my hall usually make our own fun. Whether it be playing games, watching a movie or sending each other Tik Tok’s. While sometimes I do miss my friends off campus and see videos and pictures of them together, I still get to see them at practice, on Zoom or passing by in Olmsted Starbucks.
Charleigh Reinardy
Sophomore
I try to get out of bed for class and at least sit at my kitchen table in my apartment, though I am
normally still in my pajamas because I wake up ten minutes before any of my classes begin.
Sometimes my roommates are around also in class but most of the time I am by myself.
I have had a hard time managing my time because there is what seems like so much more
homework to do and so little time, along with falling behind because I am not sure what is due
each class period. I manage my time by working on whatever is due the soonest. I work my way
down that list, I normally like to sit down on a Sunday and crank all of my homework out for the
whole week.
I am definitely feeling isolated and lonely. My roommates and I have been keeping mostly to
ourselves and occasionally seeing the same four other people. But other than that we have
almost not left our apartment. We try to have fun by going on drives, getting food, facetime
friends and family or playing games together online. Games such as Guess The Spy!
Madeline Kedrowski
Sophomore
Right now, our dining hall operates in 45-minute increments, we are able to sit down and eat during these times and then the remaining 15 minutes of the hour are for the dining staff to clean the tables, equipment, etc. Other than that, I feel like there are not that many rules. For the most part students seem to social distance enough on their own, but if students walk down the stairs in the wrong direction (go out through the assigned entrance) a dining staff member will say something.
I like dorm life! I am living with two other girls and I have felt pretty safe living in a communal space for the most part. I know of people who have gotten sick around me, but my roommates and I have been safe and responsible. I do have feelings of isolation/loneliness because I can’t meet new people. I have my few friends that I was close with at the end of my freshman year, but it is near impossible to expand my horizons right now. It is helpful to have a car this year, I drive around when I get overwhelmed or feel isolated in my room. Right now, for fun we all just hang out in each other’s rooms! We don’t do too much exciting stuff because we can’t have any events for our sorority,
Antonio Melendes
Senior
Eating in the cafeteria nowadays is a bit crazy and a lot different, but in a good way. The university is trying their best to practice social distancing and keeping things clean. I personally like going and getting my food to go, but I will eat there sometimes. I don’t want to risk getting covid there and sometimes it gets hectic knowing that all these people are around me and could have it.. It’s scary. Some rules are staying 6 ft apart, wearing masks until seated, they clean the cafeteria at the top of every hour and make everyone leave. They also let you buy a Drake to go box that is reusable that you bring back for food everytime that they clean for you too. That is super helpful for us students. It’s little things like that, that are “helping” to stop spread if (god forbid) that would happen. I will say though, they do not do a good job of following these rules. No one is really enforcing them. That is the part that is frustrating to me, someone who is trying to stay safe. I live off campus (Forest Ave Apartments) which is right across the street of Jethros. I will say though it’s different though because we can’t be in bigger gatherings so if I wanted to have friends over I couldn’t because it’s against the campus rules. I don’t like that because I love my friends and talking with them and hanging out. I obviously can’t do that now though.
I also am online (kinda) as well. I attend the classes on zoom by going to Olmsted Center and listening in. I am up everyday at 6:00am because I have practice, so it’s easier for me to not just lay in bed like other people who don’t have to be up for anything. I try to have my face on zoom because it helps me focus more, but I make sure to interact a lot with the class and answer questions because that makes me stay engaged and involved. I am managing my time well, but still continue to grow my time management skills as I am getting better everyday at that. I don’t ever feel lonely or isolated though because I have my teammates who I do homework with, I train with, eat with, I do all of these things with. I do feel bad for those students that don’t have people to rely on or talk to. I am lucky to have a lot of friends and relationships because I can talk to them. Others though, it sucks because they don’t. I do hope that those people in that situation find friends to talk to hang out while being safe, because this stuff is not easy.
Brent Nery
Senior
I take classes on campus but none of the questions apply to me as I do not have a meal plan for me to spend time at the cafeteria or the dining hall, nor do I live in a dorm or on campus. So, I will be using the online prompt as I do take some online classes. I still do my daily routine so before starting my classes of the day, I work out. That leads me to actually taking a shower and getting ready for class like the normal. I attend my class by feeling fresh and looking somehow presentable even if it is through zoom. I do not think I have ever worn pajamas. Normally, in an in-person class I would go to class in some type of athletic clothes. Nothing has changed. I still wear gym shorts and a tank or a t-shirt to class. If it is a live class, I make sure that I either stay in my room or make sure no one else is around because I do not like to be distracted when in class. I manage my time by making sure I do not cram up on homework. What I mean by that is that I make sure I do not wait until the last minute of the deadline to do the work, because that then pushes everything else back on my schedule and I like to follow my schedule. I do feel very isolated. As my professors would agree, I like to be engaged in every single discussion in class. I always raise my hand, ask questions or participate in whatever topic we are talking about. I cannot do that all the time with my zoom classes because it has made me feel awkward. Though, I still try and participate. I still have fun by trying to normalize everything I used to do pre-pandemic. I still go to work to earn some income, I still workout, and I still run outside like nothing changed; I do these things while taking extra precautions, of course
Kylee Macke
Senior
So, I live off campus and am all online for classes. However, I have been to the dining hall which is very interesting with all the changes. Currently, the hours are slightly more limited than what they regularly are. At the end of every hour, the dining hall employees ring a bell which means everyone must be out so they are able to start cleaning before they start serving food again. Also, typically there are certain stations that are self serving stations, however those are all gone now. But, I do not go to the dining hall often unless I am really out of food at home.
As far as online classes go, I attend my classes in my bedroom, sitting in my bed. And yes, depending on what time my class is, I'm usually wearing what I slept in the night before, or a slightly different version of it. I don't really enjoy taking notes and going to class in my bed though. I would go downstairs and sit at the table, but I have four other roommates who are all home as well and it can just get loud and distracting (which I am really good at distracting myself while I am alone in my room). I would go somewhere and maybe watch my lectures, but I am just most comfortable engaging in class in my room.
As far as managing my time, it does help that I play volleyball here at Drake. So, if I'm not in class, I usually am at the gym watching film, getting treatment, practicing, or meeting with my coaches. My days are typically pretty packed with that. But, if I have any free time it is usually doing homework or running errands and taking care of the at home things that I just need to get done. Outside of the typical work week is when I have the most free time and it just feels surreal for me. Usually in the fall we have games every weekend, so now I try and get up early and plan stuff for the day so I am not just laying in bed all day or feel like I'm wasting the day. But, it is weird to have my weekends free.
Overall I am not feeling lonely. I am really grateful that I have my roommates here with me. I've been able to spend a lot of time with them and make some memories our senior year. I do however feel very isolated. I am basically restricted to my house, the gym, and maybe the grocery store. The University has set pretty strict rules on the students and especially the athletes. We are not allowed to hang out as a team, we really only get to see each other at practice, so it has been a big challenge to find other ways to stay connected and keep forming relationships especially for the freshman's sake. One example of things we do is maybe a group of us will go out to eat somewhere (this isnt technically allowed we just make sure to not wear any Drake apparel). Or another thing we have done to help the freshman form relationships is we have taken on a Big/Little system like sororities do. An upperclassmen and an underclassmen are paired and required to do one thing a week together. It could be getting coffee, dinner, or even studying together. It helps to just ensure you that you have someone there for you and can maybe get off campus for a bit and be in the real world.
Lauren Igbanugo
Sophomore
I have to say that eating on campus, given the circumstances, definitely isn’t as enjoyable as it was last semester. Even though I’ve only eaten on campus a handful of times this semester, I can tell that that took serious measures to make eating in the dining hall safe for Drake students and faculty.
The biggest difference and rules I have noticed during my time eating at the dining hall is that about every hour or so, the drake cafeteria staff rings a bell, indicating that we have to leave the premises. They do this so they can clean the eating area regularly. Drake also took the time to renovate the entire dining hall to make it more covid friendly. The only downside is that the food got worse. Everyone does a pretty good job of enforcing the rules, and I think this is solely because everyone wants to stay as safe as possible and no one wants to be sent home early.
“The dorm life” for me is living in an apartment close to campus. I do have a roommate, however I get a considerable amount of time to myself. I don’t feel isolated or alone because I have two other friends that are living off campus and they live pretty close to me. I also call my family whenever I miss home.
The main things I have done for fun is go out and explore Des Moines/ go to places I haven’t been before. I always aim to have the activity set outside just to be as safe as I can be when having fun.
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Lucy Panfil
Junior
This semester I am taking some classes on campus and come classes online. I live off campus, so I do not eat in the cafeteria at all. However, I do know that it is open and have heard that they have been good about distancing and safety. I am living with three roommates this year, and I really like it. Last year I lived alone, and I know that if I lived alone this year I would be very lonely. I know that all of my roommates are taking Covid and social distancing seriously, so I feel safe living with them. We do not go out really, but still have fun hanging out with each other. I am lucky that we are ally really good friends, so we love hanging out together. My roommates and I have game nights and movie nights quite often. We also like to think up fun socially distant or outdoor activities to do. We have been to an outdoor botanical garden and are planning to go to an orchard soon. Regarding my online classes, I usually get out of my pajamas and into real clothes, but usually sit on my bed since my desk chair isn’t comfy. I feel more like I am actually in class when I change out of my pajamas. Regarding time management, I feel like I am not managing my time as well this semester as I usually do. I am much less motivated while taking online classes, so it is harder to make myself get off Netflix and do work. However, I am keeping up with my classes just fine.
Sydney Clifton
Senior
This year, I am attending Drake completely online. Given my circumstances, I find it easy to feel isolated and lonely because I am not spending time on campus with my friends and peers I enjoy. I feel like I am missing out sometimes on campus events or friend outings.
I attend classes in my office room of my house. Usually, my attire consists of pajamas and undone hair-which is why I have my camera off on Zoom most of the time! Sometimes, if I am feeling utterly exhausted, I will attend class from my phone laying down in my bed. My husband is the only one around as he is working from home right now, so he gets to watch me “go” to class everyday, and gets to deal with my bedhead appearance!
I am managing my time the best that I can, given my circumstance. I find it extremely difficult to keep on top of assignments online because there always seems to be some assignment I miss in managing all the class work and class Zoom meetings. This has been the biggest challenge of management this semester so far, as I don’t usually feel this disorganized. I also try to manage my time around moving my body-otherwise I don’t move at all for the entire day. This has been a difficult habit to break, and my body is suffering because of it.
Despite the growing negatives, I like to have fun by binge watching Netflix or enjoying the portable hot tub on my deck that we received as a wedding gift this summer.
Sydney Skemp
Sophomore
Eating in my cafeteria is definitely interesting during this time. We have time slots that you can eat in. Every 45 min they have a 15 min cleaning break to disinfect. This can be a bit tricky because sometimes you will need to eat, but if you get there too late in the hour, you will be forced to finish your food quickly or just opt out of eating as a whole. I know they are trying to keep us as safe as possible, but it is an inconvenience and does sometimes cause me to just shrug off meals. I am eating less this year than last year just because sometimes I have to go out of my way to plan to eat rather than an easy grab and go.
Dorm life this year is surprisingly great. I live in the upperclassman dorms. I live in a quad with just one other girl so we have a lot of space. It can seem kind of quiet because many people chose to stay home and do school virtually or decided to get an apartment in Des Moines. I live with my best friend and we have a lot of similar organizations we are a part of and share the same major, so I don’t often feel lonely. Sometimes I feel bored and isolated but that is expected during this time.
Cheyann Neades
Senior
When I started the semester, I was in hybrid learning, but based on the format of my classes, I am now completely online. I prefer this. I feel safer, and that I’m learning more.
I try to get ready for the day, to set the tone for productivity and to feel put together for my classes. Although, sometimes my comfortable outfits could be mistaken for pajamas over Zoom. I am by myself in my bedroom during my classes, at my desk, with my bed and blank white wall behind me.
I feel that I am managing my time very well, even though it is difficult to stay on task every now and then since I’m in the comfort of my own home. I would say with the many virtual meetings I have throughout the week; I am good at scheduling times to work on schoolwork and other assignments.
I am not feeling very isolated or alone. I think this is because my four housemates are my good friends, and we’ve built a great support system throughout this pandemic and our virtual work/commitments. We try to do something both safe and fun on the weekends, such as watch movies and reality TV while enjoying the takeout we ordered.
Taryn Ripple
Junior
I am living in an apartment just off campus and I go to an in-person class twice a week, so even though I consider myself to be an “on-campus” student I do not know much about dorm life or eating in a dining hall or any other regular college activities in the age of the coronavirus. Most of my classes are online, but I do try to get dressed every day because I know I will feel disgusting if I don’t. Time management can be a bit difficult, and I have lost most incentive to get out of bed in the morning as I don’t actually have anywhere to physically be. Online schooling isn’t so bad, but I feel like I have gotten much lazier overall.
I live with three roommates and we manage to have plenty of fun without leaving our apartment; we try to have some kind of theme or game night every weekend. We go on various outings like going to the grocery store, and these plain excursions have become fun because at least it’s something to do and a reason to go outside. It’s also nice to have other people around that I can rely on to just be with, and I know I’d be terribly lonely without my roommates.
Everett Mullican
Senior
I don’t eat on campus or in the cafeteria, BUT I would find it interesting if people were more likely to still eat in rather than taking out. I suppose the same rules apply in matters of social distancing, 6 feet and such. I would assume the same goes for groups of friends. If they don’t comply, I’d again assume that they’d just take their food and leave the cafeteria. Well, these prompts begin getting repetitive when I must mention that I am a commuter, the last time I stepped into a dorm was during my college visit and got to see what they looked like for a brief moment, they’re nice! However, I understand that it has become very strict when it comes to visiting other dorms and that one must wear a mask if doors are open and there are more than enough in one room. I’d assume more students are also living alone and I’m sure they enjoy privacy. I have my own room at home which is nice, and everyone enjoys their privacy as well. I do indeed feel lonely I wake up, parents are working, siblings in college away from home, so I get up and eat what I find in the fridge or go to Kum and Go and get the dollar sliced breakfast pizza on Wednesdays, come back home, and either sleep, work out, or do homework. Video games aren’t as fun as they were, but I occasionally dabble a game or two on the PlayStation.
Online:
I try to attend as many in-person classes as possible, I want to be on campus because I am not there enough already because I live at home. I am the minority when it comes to repetitively mentioning that I am a commuter that wants to attend class in person I’d guess, but it’s true. I want to dress to feel confident in class, so I try my hardest to present myself in a way that looks presentable and not, “I just got out of bed, what’s up?” If that makes sense. On the other hand, if it’s not the days that I’m on campus, I may wear a more comfortable outfit with a blanket on because it’s a bit cold at home.
I manage my time poorly in some things and effectively in others. In all honesty, I try to motivate myself to do the best I can, but it becomes difficult when I know that I have lots of time to do said things. I never realized how much time I save when I’m not driving to campus and back every day. Again, yes, I feel lonely, but I’d say it’s my fault that I didn’t want to spend an absurd amount for room and board with a meal plan, it was certainly a choice, but I like saving money that I don’t have to begin with because I’m an average broke college student.
Jasmine Inthabounh
Junior
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I have been recently attending my classes solely online. There was a couple recent positive cases in my sorority houses so we weren’t allowed on campus for awhile. Being online, I have been attending my earlier classes (8 AMs) in bed. Otherwise, I like to at least get to a desk to work and a space away from my bedroom. I’ve been having a hard time separating parts of my life and things can easily become mixed and mushed together for lack of a better term.
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My time management has been okay but it has been better. I think that has to do with everything in my life becoming mixed together. I also have been in the process of moving back home slowly because the house will be closing next month and for the entire spring semester. I have been trying to separate parts of my life to better my time management.
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One thing I am grateful for is that I haven’t been lonely. There has always been someone there with me whether that’s my roommate, boyfriend or sister. It’s like they take shifts in my life to keep me in order and separate school from social life to work, etc.