November 20, 2020
Students grateful for the opportunity to experience an on-campus fall semester
By Vicki-Ann Downing
Outdoor movies and food trucks on the Slavin Center lawn. Picnics with friends featuring take-out meals from Raymond Dining Hall. A Fall Festival with free T-shirts, pumpkins, pizza, apple cider doughnuts, and coffee. Workouts in the Concannon Fitness Center and intramural competition, too.
It wasn’t a typical fall semester at Providence College. But the approximately 2,500 students who spent the past 12 weeks living on campus found ways to enjoy it despite the limitations of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Even though the semester was far from normal, it was easier to find motivation to get work done on campus than at home,” said Sinead Martin ’23 (Stamford, Conn.), a social work major with a minor in sociology. “I was so happy to be back with my friends doing work and spending time together. While out of the ordinary, the semester really was a lot of fun.”
All students, except some student-athletes and international students, have returned home for the Thanksgiving break and will remain there, studying remotely, through the final examination period. They experienced a semester of weekly COVID-19 testing, mandatory mask mandates, new outdoor learning spaces with technology for remote instruction, and meal delivery to those in quarantine when an outbreak occurred in mid-September.
Isabelle Ganley ’23 (Exeter, N.H.), who is majoring in finance and in health policy and management, said she was happy to spend the fall on campus because “it’s better to face the hardships with your friends and Friar family than to do it alone.”
She said she was fortunate that four out of her five courses met in person.
“I think the precautions taken to make in-person classes happen were very effective,” Ganley said. “We had assigned seats for contact tracing and our desks were six feet apart. Memories that I will take away from this semester are outdoor movies on Slavin lawn, food truck runs with my friends, and eating outside under the Ray tent on a warm fall night.”
Martin also enjoyed spending time outdoors in the good weather.
“My friends and I would spent most of our time on Slavin lawn,” Martin said. “We would make the most out of a sunny day and spend as much time outside as possible. We often had dinner picnics outside and appreciated that while it wasn’t the fall semester we had hoped for, we were together and making memories regardless.”
Martin enjoyed the Office of Student Activities event that brought Barn Babies to Slavin lawn. Students booked cuddle time with the animals through online registration.
“The animals are super cute and everyone is so happy being around them,” Martin said. “Nothing brings as much joy to students as holding a bunny or a kitten wrapped in a blanket!”
Kyle Thompson ’22 (South Glastonbury, Conn.), a finance major, appreciated being able to work out regularly in the Concannon Fitness Center, which opened with the start of on-campus classes on Aug. 31. Students were able to reserve one-hour workout blocks through an app and wore masks while exercising, even when using cardio equipment. While the fitness center closed during the virus outbreak, it reopened in mid-October and even extended its hours in November.
“It’s a vital place for me to relieve stress throughout the day,” Thompson said. “It’s a great way for me to feel better about myself and be more productive. I was happy that it remained open. Despite what was going on in the world, I could have a place to get away and focus on myself.”
The College’s storied intramural program was curtailed due to social distancing restrictions, but some offerings remained, and Thompson was able to play KanJam, a flying disc game. Even when confined to his room in Bedford Hall during the outbreak period, he continued his workouts to improve his mental state.
Thompson also said he appreciated the health-conscious “to-go” options offered in Raymond Dining Hall and hopes they will be offered even when the pandemic is over.
“I never realized how much I appreciated in-person classes until this year,” Thompson said. “I realize the importance of quarantining. The guidelines set by PC were reasonable and created an environment for an easy adjustment period. I appreciate all the effort taken by the school to have the semester that we had.”
In a year when so many experiences were virtual, students valued in-person encounters.
For Yolanda Lewis ’24 (New Rochelle, N.Y.), a political science major, a highlight of the semester was attending a Horizons meeting in person with other students on Halloween.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the Horizons program matches first-year multicultural students with mentors and usually includes a fall retreat, which was not possible this year. Prior to the in-person meeting, group introductions and discussions to familiarize new students with life on campus had taken place virtually.
“The Horizons meeting was nice because we had only met online,” Lewis said. “Being able to see everyone in person was great.”
Emily Gonzalez, assistant director in the Center for Orientation, Transitions, and Leadership, said the 60-plus students were split into six rooms to meet state requirements.
“The student coordinators checked in with each cohort group of mentors and mentees about how their semester was going while they painted pumpkins together,” Gonzalez said. “Then, each room started a Zoom from their classroom to be able to connect all the groups, and the coordinators led a surprisingly competitive and lively Horizons-themed Jeopardy.”
Last spring, when her high school classes were halted by the pandemic, Lewis felt “trapped” at home, so interacting with teachers and students on campus this fall was wonderful, she said. Two of her classes, Politics and her Development of Western Civilization seminar, took place in person on campus.
Elizabeth Reynolds ’23 (Medway, Mass.), who is majoring in management and in global studies, said she will remember spending time outdoors in the “extraordinarily nice” fall weather; eating at a makeshift dinner table with her roommates when in-person dining at Raymond Hall was suspended; and the food trucks and free sweatshirts students received as part of the “Great Friar Comeback” after quarantine in mid-October.
“The outbreak could have sent us home, but I am grateful that the administration trusted us enough to keep us here, to enrich our educational experience as well as protect the jobs of staff on campus, including our Ray and UG2 workers,” Reynolds said.
“This proved the spirit of the Friar family more than anything else I have experienced in my short time here,” Reynolds said. “The way campus banded together made it worth it to stay. I knew that we could do it because no one wanted to go back into lockdown. The administration did not have to keep us here, but they did, and they even went above and beyond by providing us with free food trucks and Friar gear when we did not deserve or ask for it. I know that every student on campus was grateful for that.”
The pandemic restrictions forced her to become closer to the students on her floor as well.
Will she return to Providence for a spring semester?
“Absolutely,” Reynolds said.
