Student Engagement and Covid-19

By Shemar Young

For The Current

AUBURN, Wash. – Students at Green River College are feeling more socially isolated because of the pandemic and, as a result, engagement with student organizations is down dramatically.

“Club life took a dip last year…we had about 15 clubs where we’re normally at 60,” said Dan Fergueson, director of student activities and engagement at the college.

This year, student engagement is slowly climbing back up with 20 clubs now available to join. 

During this past year and a half students have been forced to adjust to pandemic era schooling. This has led to seniors graduating and going off to college in unusual circumstances. 

What’s happening at Green River is typical of what’s happening around the country. The website bestcolleges.com shows a chart about college students experiencing negative mental health symptoms because of COVID-19. 

                                                                                                                                            Source: bestcolleges.com 

According to the chart, there are different effects felt by college students, with social isolation/loneliness being the highest.

“It took a lot of experimenting throughout the course of the year,” said Fergueson, describing how the college has adapted to the virtual world of education. He also said that it was very cluttered so it became easier for students to stream shows while at home. 

What could be done to solve this? Green River College has been doing drop-in events which have reached a small number of students, but the school is still looking for better options. Discord has been an option that was brought up recently, but no progress has been made yet.