Q: In light of the pandemic, what does Collins look like residentially and program-wise this year?
A lot of our regular meetings have moved onto Zoom, and those meetings still have the same boisterous spirit and sense of humor and resourcefulness and grit that you would associate with Collins students at other times. I was in a meeting on Sunday for the Board of Educational Programming, and I was really impressed with the students’ initiative, energy, and optimism even right now, and there are also other things that are happening online. During welcome week, we had a book discussion online; they had some crafting sessions and trivia nights online. Our signature events, including the Dickens Dinner, the Viennese Ball, and the Soup Bowl moved online, too. One thing that’s a challenge is that these things are sustaining for people, but they’re not a substitute for some of the face-to-face interactions. Parents especially really have heard a lot about the Collins spirit and they want their first-year students to be able to have a taste of that.
I do see people sitting out in the commons in front of Collins and having socially distanced gatherings. Some of the Q Classes, a trademark class for Collins first-years, are meeting in person, although we do have some online options. The arts spaces are still running with socially distanced specifications. And our seminars are still running, some of them in person and some online. So there are elements that are the same, but Collins is not filled with bodies and people grouped together. One thing I remember fondly is my interview, held just before the pandemic. I went in on a Sunday and had pizza with a lot of students who were crowded into the Edmonson Formal Lounge. It was very cozy, and the students were really challenging. They asked me some incredibly hard questions—they weren’t afraid at all to press me. So, I’m a bit nostalgic right now when I go into the Edmonson Formal Lounge and think of the way in which we were all together there, and the way that can’t quite happen now.