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ONONYE | Creating Connections, Mask Edition

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Last week, I thought I saw one of my good friends in Zeus. By good, I mean actually good. We were in the same new member class for our law fraternity, we currently sit on an E-board together and he’s a great mentor to my younger brother. But, I ended up waving at a stranger whose confused face confirmed that he was not my friend, which prompted me to scramble into a seat hoping that no one around me saw the awkward interaction. I proceeded to text my friend to tell him about the horrific moment. 

Confusing a stranger with my good friend is just another example of the awkwardness that is masked interactions.

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SMITH | Transferring Out of Zoom University

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I am not built for Zoom University. I mean, no one is. Aside from neck pain and eye strain, video conferences and lectures deny us the oxytocin we glean from in-person interactions, reduce our ability to decode subliminal cues such as body language and introduce other neuropsychological road blocks. Throw in some unstable internet connections, frozen screens and audio lags and it’s easy to see why people are itching to return to in-person instruction. There are, however, some parts of Zoom University that I hope stick around even after we shift back to in-person learning. 

There are certainly benefits to having Cornell be accessible with a few clicks rather than a trek up the slope — and I’m not talking about being able to roll out of bed at 7:55 a.m. and still be on time for your 8:05 a.m. lecture.

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LORENZEN | Returning to Cornell with a Book Full of Recipes

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My thoughts tend to drift to home nowadays. It’s not out of nostalgia or homesickness. It’s out of appreciation. I’ve been in Ithaca for three weeks now after spending last semester in Miami studying remotely. And the reason why these three weeks have gone so well is directly because I was home last semester.

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SMITH | On Friendships, Cornell and Covid

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My mom’s favorite things to share about her college experience were all the memories she had of her friends. The late night study sessions, the dorm dynamics, the nights out, and sneaking extra coffee cake from the dining hall. So as I took my first steps on North Campus, I was filled with excitement and expectation thinking of the great friendships that awaited me. Similarly to high school, I was fed a narrative of college being the greatest time of my life, the place where I would make my forever friends and other rose-tinted statements that are simultaneously true and false. 

While I certainly talked to and gave a lot of people my phone number during O-Week, a lot of those numbers are sitting in my contacts like emails in my inbox from the club listservs I joined out of genuine interest but never ended up going to. Still, I’ve met many wonderful people that have been invaluable to me as pillars of support, cheerleaders, relationship coaches, comedians, study buddies and just proof that amazing human beings are out there.