Freshmen Deal With Unusual Challenges to Adjusting to College

Freshmen share their perspective on intersecting new challenges

If you walk up to freshman George Dahdough and ask him what the name of Kenna Hall or the Dowd Art and Art History Building is, he wouldn't be able to tell you, even though he’s halfway through his freshman year. 

“I'll say, I don't know,” said Dahdough.  “I go to this school but I don't know what this building is called. That's the sad reality.” 

While freshmen are usually inundated with a rush of new experiences as they adapt to college, those challenges exist in an entirely different culture now. Campus is mostly empty besides emergency housing residents, and the small group of freshmen slated to live on campus this quarter were  tentatively told to wait for the spring. 

“It’s not really cool, but it’s kind of cool,” said Dahdough of his unique first year at Santa Clara. “I guess I can say ‘hey my freshman year sucked’ thirty years later’ but that's more of a reminiscing thing so I don't know how that's quite relevant now.” 

For Dahdough, the problem isn’t finding his classes in Kenna or making peace with a roommate. It’s just about being allowed on campus. Though he’s currently taking winter quarter classes at home, he was in emergency housing last quarter and is applying for it again in the spring. 

“It’s very difficult to study, which is what happens when you’re in a small home with four other siblings and your mom, it’s quite loud.” 

Beyond managing the increased workload from high school to college, this newest class of Santa Clara students must also reconcile these expectations with online learning. Factors like extra space in your home can make it easier to adjust, but Santa Clara students without the ideal study environment have  to fight an uphill battle. 

“If I had been at home I would probably be failing a large portion of my classes, which makes me disheartened,” said freshman Rachel Stattion. “Here, I have a place to focus on my future.” 

Stattion has been living in emergency housing for the whole school year, except for the end of fall quarter when students in emergency housing were asked to leave campus. Though Stattion sees the positive role on-campus housing has played in her academic survival, she recognizes the downsides as well. 
“My mind was in chaos because I was trying not to focus on it, and still focus on my grades, but also worry about where I would be finishing the end of the quarter,” said Stattion on juggling school and housing uncertainty after Santa Clara asked students to leave campus from Thanksgiving break through Winter Quarter.

Stattion and Dahdough both were able to stay at the Hilton starting Thanksgiving where they received discounted rates arranged through the University. Dahdough even secured funding from the LEAD Scholars Program to afford the expense. During his time there, these students once again had to adapt to a new environment while preparing for  final exams. 

“I couldn’t go out on walks which was very important to my mental health to be able to just relax,” said Dahdough. 

Despite the unforeseen challenges, like changing living situations or restricted movement, Stattion did anticipate the difficulty of this year. 

“I may have cried a little when I got the email that we weren’t going to go on campus.”

Stattion reiterated her desire was less about living on campus, but more about missing out on Santa Clara’s welcoming culture as a freshman. 

“I was looking forward to making friends,” noting the cultural promises around freshman year, Stattion continued, “as someone who was confined to a small school for so long, I was looking forward to finding ‘my people.’”

Similarly, Dahdough shared, “One of the things I had looked forward to was being able to interact with people who were in an environment where they were ready to learn.”

Dahdough tried to get around some of the natural isolation by studying in the lobby of Casa Italiana and striking conversations with other people in emergency housing. More traditionally, Stattion has found friends through her extracurriculars like Associated Student Government (ASG), Igwe and LEAD Scholars. 

Despite these avenues, Stattion expressed frustration with the burden of online communication for making friends. “Because of constantly being on your phone or computer, I am a little more stressed out about [social media] notifications that I'm like ‘okay im just gonna put those aside.’”

In a mix of gratitude, stress and confusion, Stattion and Dahdough paint a picture of the entirely unfamiliar landscape they’ve had to navigate this year. 

With setbacks around every corner,  these freshmen’s ability to advocate for their housing and safety on a nearly empty campus starkly contrasts the stereotype of the naive and ignorant freshman stereotype.