By Diana Lichtenstein || Onion Dip Columnist
So I have been hearing a lot of complaints from the student body about school in general, but particularly the module system, online class, and Covid-19 broadly, (having to wear a mask and a lack of parties). If you are a freshman or sophomore right now, I get it. Juniors and up, however, I’m a little confused. In my opinion, this year is great.
No, I’m not kidding—hear me out. My social anxiety is at a new level of low. In this piece, I will discuss all of the things I don’t miss about previous years. I want to preface that this is a satire column and I am by no means making light of Covid-19 struggles, I am just stating my opinions while laughing at my anxious self.
First of all, I don’t miss seeing everyone and their mother on Hartman on the way to class. If I had a 2:15 class or a 12:45 class, I had to brace myself to see the entire campus. I mean, you can only say “Hi ‘___,’ how are you?” in the span of 30 seconds so many times. The campus of F&M is comically small, so it is practically impossible to avoid most people. Now with masks, and the lack of most in-person classes, avoidance is easier than ever! If you want to disguise yourself, add sunglasses to your look, and no one will recognize you. The weirdo you spoke to at Hildys: avoided. The professor whose class you skipped: dodged. I’m also not great at small talk, but now with COVID, conversations seem to be shorter anyway. And there is always something going wrong at F&M to be discussed!
I don’t miss having four classes. Yes, I know they are accelerated or whatever, but it’s two things less to worry about so I can’t complain. Then again, I’m not pre-med. I’ve been told that’s hard, right? Anyways, on top of this, being a junior and living off-campus is truly exquisite. The freedom to see the people I want to see and just vibe together is great.
Everything I miss, I also don’t. Take Dhall on Sundays as an example. It is hilarious to people-watch all the tables that are neatly sectioned off by student organizations. Depending on how “wild” your Saturday night was, the funnier Dhall is the next morning if you catch my drift. So that I miss, but I also don’t. And yes, I miss mixers, but I don’t miss the post-mixer anxiety.
In conclusion, as much as Covid-19 sucks, there are some benefits to how this year at F&M is playing out, in my opinion. I mean, for the upperclassmen—probably not the underclassmen (sorry guys, it will get better)—it’s pretty nice.
Junior Diana Lichtenstein is the Onion Dip Columnist. Her email is dlichten@fandm.edu