The Privilege of Boredom
COVID-19 sent freshmen home in 2020, but this year’s graduating seniors emerged with a college experience nonetheless
Cheers echoed throughout campus when the email was sent. “Beginning tomorrow, Tuesday, March 10th, we will suspend face-to-face meetings of classes and move to a virtual format until Monday, April 13th,” wrote President Kevin O’Brien, S.J.
What was thought to be an extended spring break and a “get out of finals free card” ended up being a quarantine that lasted years and forever changed higher education. The then-freshmen had to go right back to where they came from: home with their parents.
“I was thinking we would be back in the fall at the very worst because I missed home a little bit,” said senior English major Carter Clees. “I was like, oh sweet, no finals and we’ll be back in maybe a month.”
The pandemic shortened the amount of time current seniors had to experience authentic and interpersonal undergraduate life. As a result, these students were imbued with an awareness of the limited amount of time left to get involved when coming back to Santa Clara in the fall of 2021.
Coming into their junior year with only two years left as undergraduates, many sought to be a part of an on-campus organization as they moved back to having in-person events. Many students fulfilled personal goals in this reinvigorated social environment.
Clees had always wanted to start a band. This desire was realized with the formation of 3PM Oats, which helped lead the resurgence of the student music scene as the class of 2023 returned to campus.
“COVID created a sense of immediacy for a goal that I always wanted to accomplish, because as soon as I was possibly able to, I got a band together,” said Clees. “Junior year, everyone just came out of the woodwork and backyard shows started happening.”
This eagerness to contribute to an active university community may differentiate these seniors from other classes. By virtue of being the first cohort to experience both virtual and in-person college, seniors have a unique perspective that encourages them to make the most out of Santa Clara.
“Above all else, we have an action mindset,” said Clees. “We learned what we were missing out on, and when we came back, we got our hands on it.”
Returning to campus meant an opportunity to reflect on the foundation set before being sent home. Many seniors think of the time they had on campus as a transformative beginning of an era. Senior philosophy major Josef Rapadas expressed that he was especially enthusiastic to enter an entirely new social scene so he could explore his self-expression.
“Socially, I was able to reinvent myself, since nobody really knew me,” said Rapadas. “Whatever I chose to be was what people saw. It was a very smooth six months.”
Quarantine seemingly brought these changes to a halt. Though students understood that they would be apart from each other for a brief period of time, not many foresaw the impact that the long-lasting pandemic would have on their new relationships.
“My friends and I had an initial goodbye, but we were definitely not ready for a goodbye of one and a half years”
Separated from new acquaintances and with too much time on their hands, students were able to develop new hobbies and habits back at home. Some saw the lockdown as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to adopt a healthier lifestyle.
“I discovered parts of myself that I never thought I could, because at the end of freshman year into sophomore year was when I started working out seriously,” Rapadas said. “That was a significant change to my lifestyle that was overall very positive. Maybe you could call it the privilege of boredom.”
While many students did have more free time, schoolwork still posed burdens for those who had to readjust to life at home. Senior Delaney Harris described the challenges of being back living with her parents in New York as she finished her freshman year.
“I would always be up way later studying for stuff or being in class,” Harris said. “I had a class at 6:50, which would be awkward with my mom making dinner while I tried to concentrate.”
As the pandemic continued to spread across the nation, Santa Clara canceled in-person classes for all of the Spring quarter. Professors and students were suddenly forced to adjust to Zoom and alter the structure of upcoming final exams.
It was a critical juncture for teachers and students, as both groups were thrust into unique roles and called upon to adapt to the new educational environment. While some teachers simply continued the lecturing style they had before Zoom, others were able to use the format to their advantage.
“I think Zoom, for a lot of professors, acted as a stress test in the sense that really good professors could adapt to Zoom in a way that was still engaging to the students,” said Clees. “A couple of professors I had used the medium well, and I’m still fond of those classes.”
Because the virtual platform was tailored towards a more professional setting rather than promoting meaningful interaction between students, some lost the motivation to contribute.
“The interaction between the student and the professor was changed greatly, and I think it was a negative change,” said Rapadas. “I just couldn’t sustain a prolonged focus during these class days online.”
The relative anonymity of learning in an online setting gave some an easier avenue to accomplish the bare minimum.
“If you’re the kind of student that just likes to skirt by in every class, COVID was a great era for you,” said Clees. “But if you were a really strong student, it was much harder for you to stand out. There’s less motivation to contribute given that it’s harder to have meaningful office hours, for example.”
But the diminished intensity of coursework during the pandemic inspired some students to be more thorough with completing their academic goals. Being at home and having fewer extracurricular activities allowed for more time to craft strong studying habits.
“Over COVID I felt I was more intense with work, and I would take better notes in my classes,” said Harris. “If COVID didn’t happen, I feel I wouldn’t care as much about school. There was literally nothing to do besides hang with family and work.”
The excess of free time induced by the pandemic also enabled Santa Clara students to increase their course load. Some sophomores were comfortable completing as many core requirements as possible during the 2020-2021 school year.
“My plan was to try to overload as many classes and pass them because they’re easier, and that’s what I did,” said senior music and business major Adam Li. “It wasn’t stressful because I had my friends to talk to; everyone else was home.”
Now, with COVID-19 seemingly in the rear-view mirrors, seniors are enjoying their final few weeks at Santa Clara. And for many, COVID-19 ended up bringing the senior class closer together.
“We have built a community for ourselves, we’ve seen a really good rallying cry and a lot of good student cooperation over the last couple of years,” said Clees. “And that is what I’m optimistic about.”