By Tishya Khanna ’23
Features Reporter
Being away from campus is difficult and isolating. In this column, we’ll talk about everything we miss, big and little, about campus: your weekly hub of togetherness in bittersweet nostalgia. For the first edition, here’s a list of 10 things dearly missed about our campus.
1. Late Night at Blanch
Ah, the pleasure of waiting in a mile-long line just to get the junk food that would lead to our slow decay. Jokes aside, I think it’s fair to admit that Brian at the Late Night pizza station has been the unspoken hero of our community, making delicious pizzas that fill our hearts and bellies with much-needed hope and cheese. But Late Night is even more than that. “I miss going to Late Night with my friends, eating an absurd amount of junk food and laughing at everything,” Ria Revani ’23 said.
2. The Lunch Rush and Other Annoyances
Yes, really. I don’t know about you, but, in a bittersweet way, I miss sprinting across campus after class to get a table in Blanch during the lunch rush. Being away from campus has made some of us start to miss even the inconvenient things. On the edges of campus, Isabel Kadel-Garcia ’23 is lamenting about other things. “I also miss being able to complain about the little things that we experience mutually, like the sign that says, ‘The yellow flashing lights have been activated. Cars may not stop.’ at 3 a.m.,” Kadel-Garcia said.
3. Chilling on Skinner Green
Whether it’s a sunny fall day or a snowy winter day, Skinner Green always has its bounty to offer. Lie down on the grass and soak in the sun on the weekend, build a snowman and have a snowball fight with friends or accidentally pass out when you have class in 30 minutes — the Green is always there to serve you and make your day brighter.
4. The Library
Spending hours studying, napping and procrastinating in the beautiful Williston Library with other students was so much better than sitting in front of the same laptop screen now used for everything. Getting lost in endless rooms full of books, discovering new corners out of boredom and getting a fresh cup of coffee from the Frances Perk cafe were some of my favorite things to do on campus.
5. Study Groups
Even if you weren’t much of a study group enthusiast, the ability to just hang out with friends and get things done seems like a great asset now. Studying and working alone tends to be isolating and discouraging. Having other people to work on difficult problems with is relieving and reassuring. Being engrossed in or frustrated with work is so much better when hanging out with friends in common rooms, academic buildings, Blanch or the library.
6. Bumping Into Friends
This one probably hurts the most. Quarantine has meant the loss of the easygoing interaction with friends at random times of the day, whether it’s a short 10-minute chat or an hour-long extended lunch with a friend you haven’t talked to in a while. “I think the thing I miss most is the sense of community in our small campus,” Saachi Khandpur ’22 said. “I miss smiling at familiar faces and talking to people while walking from Blanch to our dorms or classes.”
7. PVTA
Yes, you read it right — it’s the “pivta” and not “pee-vee-tee-ay.” From allowing us to hop on the late night bus to Amherst for some Insomnia Cookies or the morning buses to beautiful hiking sites, the PVTA has been our steady connection to the outside world. As much as this is about the PVTA, in the COVID-19-ridden world, all comfortable, inexpensive and safe travel in public transportation is dearly missed.
8. Jorge
Unlike most people, it took me a while to understand the legendary Jorge’s charm. But seeing him glide gracefully on the lake’s water as the ducks worship him like he is their prophet was reassuring in its own way on tough days. These days, while struggling with online classes, a little bit of goose in our lives could really help us get through these tough times.
9. The Gorgeous Campus and Western Massachusetts
Rural Massachusetts has its own homey charm. For those of us stuck in cities (or not), the abundance of trees, hills and lakes is a long-forgotten dream. Whether it’s the night sky full of stars or crossing the little bridges on campus, beauty is everywhere. But the most beautiful of all are the Gothic-style buildings that never fail to stun you.
10. Well, the Classes Themselves
Although online classes remind us of our resilience through these tough times, they can never replace the full experience of in-person classes. Discussions meant speaking to the person sitting next to you, the professors used actual whiteboards instead of Miro to explain concepts and some classes just meant spending time together with a group of people you will learn a lot from.