It is no secret that the pandemic affected all of us. While it may have affected some more than others, there is no disputing the fact that everyone was affected somehow.
A large portion of the population suffered from mental health issues during this time, and college students were no exception.
In an article published by Frontiers in Psychology, the researchers found that people have “more stress and have more depressive and anxiety symptoms due to the severity and harmfulness of the epidemic.”
The changes which arose due to the pandemic such as the transition from in-person learning to virtual schooling have only recently been reversed, which has brought new challenges to students. Even though school is almost fully in person, fears about getting COVID-19 and having to quarantine during classes are still prevalent.
Payton Cordura, junior marketing major, came down with COVID and was forced to quarantine away from the school.
She said the thought of getting sick definitely crosses her mind when at large school events.
“I definitely had a bunch of apprehensions when I’m at a big event or even at Spiritual Life night and stuff like that,” Cordura said.
She said that when she was at home having to quarantine over the Halloween weekend, “definitely had a lot of FOMO” and that she “definitely felt like patient zero,” due to all the protocol and contact tracing she had to go through.
Even with all she had to do, Cordura attributed her positive outlook and good morale during it all to the students and teachers who reached out to her when she was sick.
“They were just really great people,” Cordura said. “Our professors here are so personable, especially in a time with COVID. All of them personally reached out and were like, ‘Are you OK? Do you have someone to bring you food?’ Everyone was so nice and so helpful. It was really encouraging to know that’s the community I’m surrounded by.”
Another student, Jordyn Tilley, freshman film major, said that even though COVID did not have an effect on her morale, it did give her a sense of perspective.
“I want to live life to the best of my ability and do things that I wouldn’t normally do,” Tilley said.
It is no surprise that this pandemic has changed the outlook of many people, and even those at California Baptist University are feeling the effects of it. See page 4-5 for information on campus resources.
