Jenna Goldsmith

There Is No College in COVID Jenna Goldsmith

Like so many colleges and universities across the country, OSU Cascades 'went remote' in March 2020 to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Faculty turned on a dime, shifting their courses from face-to-face to remote over the Spring Break holiday, and students hunkered down for a long term of Zooming.




In the journal entries collected here, students reveal a range of emotional responses to being a college student during COVID, and in their own voices. We witness frustration, sadness at the loss of family and friends, a newfound appreciation for the simple pleasures of life, and confusion about what would come next. Collectively, what these students have in common is their station as first-term, first-year students grappling with the uncertainty and significant disruption brought on by a global pandemic.