What it feels like to be back

COVID-19 affected all our lives in different ways. There’s no audience for performances, no careless hugs, and kisses during greetings, no traveling, and a lot of other things. If we think about how the pandemic has affected academia the first thing that comes to mind is the absence of interaction.

Students don’t come to classes anymore, professors have to use a computer mouse instead of chalk and markers for writing. Students don’t raise their hands but write in a Zoom chat to be the next to talk. The process of transferring studies from offline to online for sure was uncomfortable and sudden, especially for AUCA. One day everyone left the campus thinking that tomorrow everything would be okay but it never was. It’s been a year of the campus is closed and so many things have changed. An integral part of the true AUCA experience is its lively atmosphere and constant interaction with other students. This doesn’t go well with the pandemic, does it? Seniors were the first to come back to the campus. Something they have been waiting and fearing for so long. This means both that things go back to normal slowly but surely but also that they are about to leave their alma mater. In this photo essay, I followed a few seniors as they navigated through an empty campus trying to figure out the new normal.

The campus very early in the morning always looks like this. It looks very normal. Lights are lit but it’s still kind of dark and there are a few cleaning ladies and that’s it.

All tables around are empty yet students still manage to put all of their stuff in one place and make a mess.

The chessboard always used to be taken and people would come up and ask to be the next ones in line to play but now no one does that.

Some seniors were so desperate to come back to the campus despite the fact they can attend classes from phones.

In 2021 even memorial services are handled online.

Middle of the day and not a single soul on the forum.

The study zone used to be the second most crowded place on the campus after the kitchenette.

Some seniors say that they now study on campus to be more focused but some things stay the same.

An occasional stroll around the campus between studies to reminisce about the good old days.

There are very few advantages in the empty campus. Skyboxes are always free now.

For a second it feels like nothing has changed and there is no pandemic.

No one coming in, only seniors coming out.