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Starting in March 2021, our team began by sending an informal survey to our peers. This survey serves as a living record of any and all experiences that college students have faced stemming from COVID-19. You may take the survey here.

We were able to reach COVID-infected students, commuters, dorm residents, online-only students, and recent graduates.

Survey Data

Here are some highlights from the questions we asked on the survey:

How many people do you know that have had the COVID-19 virus?

How many people do you know that have been put into quarantine?

Do you have preferred social media platforms that you use to communicate?

How has your choice of social platforms been affected by the pandemic? Did you start to use any new ones?

“I definitely started to use Zoom a lot, and I had never used it before”
“just used the same ones more frequently”
“Started using Discord more”

How has technology affected your ability to communicate socially during the pandemic?

“Allows me to actually talk to people from my cave”
“I miss being able to see people in person. Calling over discord works but it doesn’t allow for the same flow of conversation as a normal social gathering would. For example more than one conversation cant be happening at once and 2 people cant talk at the same time without there being confusion or someone getting ignored.”
“Yes! I am able to do a lot with my friends over discord with voice channels and streaming, so even if we aren’t together as friends we can still play games etc”

How has technology affected your ability communicate academically?

“As a Deaf/HoH student, it is becoming somewhat difficult since I need CC and voice to understand what they are saying. Not to mention a lot of technical issues with the Zoom.”

“Zoom recordings have helped but otherwise it’s about the same”

“I’m the only person who talks on Zoom so it’s pretty easy to voice my opinion”

Have you experienced any new frustrations with technology or technological difficulties since the pandemic started?

“Honestly, 1) learning from my room is just in general a lot harder to focus and 2) sometimes my wifi will cut out or my laptop will heat up with so many programs open for my classes + Zoom”

“Yes, especially with Zoom. It’s not easy as a deaf person because I have to rely on paying attention to the interpreter. Spotlighting isn’t a fun part when there is like over 20 people on the Zoom.”

What was your initial reaction when the first stay at home order was issued?

“Relief. I no longer had to seem like the anxious weirdo. People finally understood why I was so scared.”

“This happened when I was on my co-op. I was still considered an essential worker for Homeland security so it somewhat affected my work but it did affect where I go such as shopping and restaurants. I wasn’t too upset about it but I grew weary of it after my co-op.”

“My hometown is really small, so I genuinely (and naively) believed that we would be able to go for 2 weeks and then come back as if everything was normal”

When you aren’t studying, how do you spend your time?

“Driving around, sometimes I’ll stop at a park.”

“Watching TV, hiking, biking (weather permitting), playing videogames”

Did you pick up a hobby during the pandemic? What is it? Have you maintained it as the academic year has progressed?

“Started playing D&D, and yeah, I have.”

“No new hobbies. My mental state has been in turmoil for awhile and so it feels like I am mainly focusing on staying afloat mentally. I haven’t put much thought into exploring new interests or growing, but that is something that I think many people would want to do.”

What are your thoughts on RIT’s COVID-19 policies?

“RIT has placed profit above practicality to a frankly absurd degree. There’s next to no reason students need to be on campus other than its profitable for them to be. I understand there are labs/resources that are needed on campus but not all students require these services.”

“Ehhhh. I’m glad that we finally *have* testing, but I think that there is a mistaken feeling of safety because of that and now students are making riskier decisions and not being punished for them. (parties off campus)”

What are your thoughts on living in close quarters housing, RIT owned or otherwise, with other RIT students during the pandemic?

“Sucked to personally witness neighboring residents in University Commons not following the most basic instructions regarding the quarantine.”

“I think that it would definitely benefit someone like me who lives in a studio, to get social interactions with people by living in housing with other RIT students/my friends”

How would you say the pandemic has affected your professors’ approach to teaching?

“Most of them have done a great job of keeping class involved online. I’ve had a few though who seem to have thrown in the towel and barely do anything at all besides answer emails. I don’t like pre-recorded or pre made material classes that are self paced. I much prefer the professor be directly involved with the class the whole semester.”

“All my classes went away with handing out any papers (as per RIT policy now). Professors in general feel way more lenient and accommodating, though without know all of the policy, it’s hard to say if it is all truly out of good will or if they are somewhat forced, but I would like to think that it is the former.”

“Not easy. I need the visual learning in person. I have to teach myself just in case if I don’t understand.”

Do you have any notable projects that exist because of the quarantine? In what ways did the pandemic affect the nature of your assignments?

“Most of my workload was maintained and has not really changed due to the nature of my major”

“Dropped my GPA from a 3.8 to a 3.4. I thought the quarantine would allow me to take 8 courses simultaneously, but boy was I wrong. The struggle to find coops in tandem with this course-load didn’t help either.”

How have you found the response from health officials on the RIT campus in regards to any pandemic concerns? Non-pandemic concerns?

“I have next to zero faith in the COVID numbers the school reports. If they actually cared about the health and wellbeing of the students they wouldn’t have us on campus”

“There isn’t great communication between the health center and the administration in regards to COVID guidelines.”

If applicable, what was your experience with the COVID-19 virus like?

“it felt like a horrible flu – I was tired and feverish, and lost my taste and smell for a few days.”

“I was completely asymptomatic. I would not have known I had the virus had I not been tested before intending to return home for Thanksgiving.”

What do you miss most about pre-pandemic life?

“Spontaneous outings!”

“Everything”

Has the pandemic affected your trust in the government? If yes, how so?

“Felt that the government handled this pandemic horrendously. Changed my vote for that sole reason. As things stand now, it seems like this incompetence transcends our leaders.”

“Yes. It’s clear that they don’t care about disabled people.”

How has the pandemic affected your view of your fellow humans?

“Mask mandates reveal a lot about people. Especially their ignorance.”

“I think that americans especially entitled middle aged white people are definitely garbage people and it is sad to see such a large portion of the country be disillusioned about the pandemic, elections and other important issues. I think the main reason this can happen is because of a lack of moderation in social media platforms”

“I work in food service and the way people treat us has gotten significantly worse. I’m extremely frustrated with how little people seem to care about this pandemic”

What experiences did you miss because of the pandemic that you will never have another chance to do?

“I was going to study abroad and its my last year so now I can’t”

“Senior Prom, Graduating, a normal freshman year of college, orientation, open houses”

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