This year will look different for freshmen at the University of Oregon, with incoming students attending college amid the coronavirus pandemic. As the upcoming year remains uncertain, some freshmen shared their concerns about coming to UO.
In a normal year, freshmen at UO would prepare for their first year by attending a summer orientation — IntroDUCKtion — where they learn about the university and meet other students. Due to social distancing requirements, the university shifted to a virtual orientation, where incoming students attend weekly meetings and interest sessions.
Related: “A look at virtual IntroDUCKtion”
Chloe Montague, an advertising major, has been attending weekly one-hour Flock meetings over Zoom. There, she said, freshmen participate in activities and meet with other students in order to prepare for UO.
“In all this craziness, I think communication between the university and the incoming students got a little muddled,” Montague said. “But this year’s IntroDUCKtion has been really helpful.”
While the summer orientation serves as a guide for incoming students, most students look forward to IntroDUCKtion to meet other admitted students. That may prove to be more difficult, with the program moved to an online experience.
Incoming freshman Kenna Dinsdale said she was excited to attend IntroDUCKtion in person, and was disappointed when the orientation went remote. “I thought it would be a really easy way to meet people,” Dinsdale said. “I was already kind of worried about making friends, but I feel like without any in-person events, I won’t meet anyone or make friends.”
“I am excited to broaden my horizons, meet new people, and learn in a whole new environment,” Brandon Orick, an incoming business administration major, said. “The one part that worries me is meeting new people in the midst of this pandemic. It is extremely unfortunate that we will not get the same opportunity to socially interact as if there was not a virus spreading, but I am more concerned with keeping people safe and healthy.”
Maddie Merwine, an architecture major, said she felt worried about her classes and how they will operate amid a pandemic. “This year, I was really looking forward to being really embedded in my major and architectural design and participating in architecture studies,” Merwine said. “This will be much less feasible now because of COVID-19, and I have no idea what the studio classes are going to look like.”
For many freshmen, attending college is the first time they will live away from home. Autumn Wingate, a journalism major, said she felt disappointed that the incoming freshmen class won’t be able to experience a normal first year at UO.
“We have gone our whole lives looking forward to the day we get to leave home and live on campus in a new place, and we do get that, just not in the same way,” Wingate said.
Despite the circumstances, some incoming freshmen remain optimistic about their first year. “Honestly, I feel like things are going to work out,” Julia Abdoullaeva, a biochemistry major, said. “I am hoping that things will run smoothly.”
“There is a lot of uncertainty, and as I’m sure is true for most other students, this is certainly wearing on me,” Merwine said. “But overall, I am very excited to be a Duck and experience the next chapter of my life in Eugene.”
