The GroupMe for the class of 2023, once benign, has now turned into a source of entertainment for many, featuring frequent arguments, personal drama and sometimes blatant racism.

We asked students to reflect on their experience with the cancellation of school in March 2020. Here are their stories in their own words

For freshmen who had attended classes remotely for their first semester of college, getting a first look at campus wasn’t something done in short sleeves and T-shirts, but rather under the many layers of clothing necessary for the bitter St. Louis conditions of mid-January.

No, with Tweets and comments from people in chillier regions telling Texans to suck it up and other general minimizations of the situation, it’s clear to see that some hearts have also been frozen over.

Quick, easy, painless. That is how freshman Hailey Weiss described her experience getting the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The shot was so painless that at first, she wasn’t even sure that she got it, the only thing assuring her being the sight of blood under her bandage.

Whether the topic is about the existence of God or the morality of the death penalty, as soon as the topic is introduced, the conversation takes off, devoid of the awkward silences of most Zoom calls.

The Burning Kumquat, the University’s student-run organic garden. The group grows crops year-round, harvesting them to either sell to the University community and Bon Appétit (the company that manages the University’s dining services) or to donate to food banks around St. Louis.

In a time where we have all been asked to balance safety and socializing, perhaps no one has felt the strain of this task more than the University’s freshmen.