“We join our Zoom meetings and leave it as soon as we are dismissed. “What seems like the easiest place to meet people - in class - is no longer much of an option,” Michelle Cazorla ’24 said. Now, those casual interactions, key to the college experience, are much harder to come by. For many, classes were once a space to freely talk to people with similar academic interests. “A lot of classes, especially if they’re asynchronous, don’t give me the opportunity to meet or make friends,” Ramarao said. Months of physical distancing only amplified these feelings of stress and pressure, students said. The usual support system of living in a shared community is now much more disparate, with many students seeing each other only through screens. “But, we are putting aside a lot of the mental and emotional strain we are feeling - through loved ones who have died, through the stress of living in this time - and we’re trying to cope with the difficulties of college.” “We’re going to classes, we’re continuing with our college year, OK, fine,” Ramarao said. Choosing to study remotely, Ramarao expressed concern over a lack of acknowledgment from Cornell faculty about the overall wellness of their students.

“Students are not OK,” Malavika Ramarao ’23 said from her home in California.

Without the annual traditions that bring a sense of spirit to campus - Homecoming, Apple Fest, O-Week - and without regular interaction inside classrooms, students are struggling to stay socially active and connected to each other. In a campus void of typical college experiences, community and connection seem to be quickly deteriorating despite efforts to hold virtual events.

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