From in-person classes and clubs to petting the cows, there’s a lot to look forward to this year for those returning to Davis
The Editorial Board is beyond excited to welcome everyone back to campus. We made it through a year and a half of online learning, and now we’re vaccinated, masked up and ready to go to class. So much of what makes UC Davis special is impossible to experience virtually, from its friendly cows and beautiful arboretum to its massive football games and concerts in the Mondavi Center.
Students will once again be able to interact with their professors and peers face-to-face, making classes more engaging and the content more digestible. Returning to a quiet, focused classroom will minimize distractions and increase access to a traditional learning environment. We’ll still have useful tools for meeting people and discussing class topics like Discord, but we’ll also be able to chat with the students sitting near us in lecture and make friends that way as well.
After spending a year having minimal contact with other people, we encourage students to put themselves out there and try something new, like joining a club or an intramural sports team. No matter what your interests are, there’s a good chance someone has started a club for it. UC Davis has many student organizations geared toward different communities on campus, student interests and community service.
Everyone on the Editorial Board is excited to return to campus, but we’re also nervous. It’ll be weird to see so many people every day, and everyone’s small talk skills are a little rusty. Half of the students have never biked on campus before — the bike circles are going to be absolute chaos. There’s also uncertainty surrounding what will happen if a professor or student gets sick during the quarter.
We’re all excited to have fun this quarter, but it’s important to remember that the pandemic is ongoing. As of Sept. 4, 91% of the UC Davis community is fully vaccinated, and both the vaccinated and unvaccinated populations are required to get tested regularly, but breakthrough infections will still happen. Regulations from the UC Davis administration can only do so much—it’s vital for each of us to take safety precautions seriously in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19 on campus.
It’s completely valid to be concerned about going into our first quarter on-campus since the pandemic began. But this will be new for everyone: students, professors and administrators alike. No one is alone in being stressed about the upcoming school year, whether they’re worried about the pandemic, academic pressure, finding a friend group or all of the above. This quarter might be difficult and confusing at times, but it’ll be easier to get through it if we all support each other.
When you Google what makes UC Davis special or ask an alumnus what they love about UC Davis, one of the first things to come up is always how nice the people are. UC Davis is known for being a welcoming community, and we hope its kindness will be as apparent as ever this quarter. It’s up to us to redefine our college experience and make this school year educational, safe and fun for everyone.
Written by: The Editorial Board
